New Beginnings
by Fjallmann
Summary: AU: During and after Watershed Season 5 episode 24 and into season 6 a bit. "Look guys there is something I have to tell you, but there is someone I have to tell first". Caskett. It's a little spot on in the first chapter, then takes things away from the show a bit.
1. Chapter 1

**New Beginings.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **AU: During and after Watershed Season 5 episode 24.**

 **Look guys there is something I have to tell you, but there is someone I have to tell first.**

* * *

"Beckett", Kate answered her phone curtly, not recognizing the number.

Espo and Ryan looked at her curiously as the look on her face went from bored to pokerface in 2 seconds flat. She had been acting weird all week and this phone call was not helping. There was a slight flush that went up her cheeks as she continued to listen intently.

She sat up straighter then and said, "thank you, I will let you know". She was lost deep in her own thoughts, visibly trying hard to keep her face neutral.

"Hey Beckett, you OK?" Esposito said cautiously, trying his best to not sound like he was prying. He was, though only out of concern for his good friend. "Was that about the case?" He was sure that would pull her out of her own mind.

"What?" She managed to focus on the two detectives, "Oh, no that was – uhm – personal." She sounded as if she wanted to tell them what the call was about but thought better of it.

Espo walked over, put his hand on her shoulder and asked her sincerely if she was all right. Looking into her eyes as he waited for a response, there was no way she would be able to fool him at this moment.

"Javi, I'm fine", she looked serenely into his eyes, not the slightest hint of panic in here body language. "There is something I want to tell you," she copied his gesture and place a hand on his shoulder, as a way to prove that she meant what she said, "but there is someone else that I need to tell first." She dropped her hands, and picked up her jacket, folded it over her arm and left the precinct, with Espo and Ryan both staring after her.

She decided that no matter what she had decided, he needed to be part of everything about where they would go from here. She was not going to force him to do this with her, no matter how much she wanted it.  
This was going to be interesting, she thought as she pressed one on her speed dial. He answered on the second ring.

"Kate, I thought you were coming over later", he mused, "Is everything all right?"

He sounded a little nervous, and she couldn't blame him considering the fight they had the night before, about her interview with the FBI/AG task force. He had stormed out of her apartment in anger.

She knew what she wanted now and she needed to tell him, and she needed it to be at their special place. This was a place where so many big decisions were made, and conversations had. There was no place better for this news.

"We need to talk" She said, getting nervous herself. She wasn't sure if he had forgiven her for not telling him about DC, but they had to talk and she needed them to talk now, before she lost her nerve. "Can you meet me at the swings?"

"I'll head out right now", was all he said before the line disconnected.

When she arrived 20 minutes later, he was already there. She took a deep breath and walked towards the swing set trying her best to look her same fierce self, she sat on one of the swings next to Rick.

"Hey", he said. He looked very serious and all humor was put aside.

"I'm sorry", she didn't greet him, just continued with her apology. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about the job in DC. I shouldn't have kept secrets and …" He cut her off

"It's who you are", he looked so upset, how could she fix this? He continued, "I've had to scratch and claw for every inch".

"Castle", she interrupted him.

"No wait, let me finish", his voice still monotonous. "I've been thinking a lot about us and our relationship, where we're headed", he took a deep breath and then added, "and I decided that I want more-".

 _SHIT, is this really happening, he breaking up with me_ now _?_

"We both deserve more", he stopped.

 _This is it, spit it out Castle. I need to be ready to walk away when this speech is over, I won't let him break my heart_ and _see me cry in the same moment. I wouldn't be able to handle it.  
We do deserve more, a happy family, a future – together . How can he not see that, that's all I want?_

Mustering all the strength she had in her soul she said two little words, "I, agree". She did agree to an extent, the _more_ that she wanted though was certainty and Rick Castle, always.

"So," he began, "whatever happens, whatever you decide".

 _Damn it, these tears really have a mind of their own._ She tried to focus on something so she wouldn't have to look at him, knowing that as soon as she did, she wouldn't be able to keep it together. She was quickly realizing that this was really it, they really were about to be over and there was nothing she could do about it. _This was all her fault, damn it, she never should have lied to him.  
_ It was the slow purposeful movement that caught her eye, _what was he doing?_

"Katherine Houghton Beckett", He landed on his knee, pulled out a ring and looked her straight in the eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh," her shock so complete, that it seemed that was the current extent of her vocabulary. "Oh my God", she was slowly gathering her thoughts and comprehending the scene before her. The love of her life was on one knee with a ring in his hand and a hopeful look on his face.

"You're proposing!?" She was not at all expecting this right now, or at all. She was madly in love, but still – she was sure that he was going to end things.

"Well, yes", he looked at Kate and then back at the ring, hoping for some feedback on the question he had just popped.

"I – ah – I thought you were breaking up with me", she was so emotional that her voice was all over the place with this confession.

"By offering you a ring?" He looked at her rather quizzical and starting to look nervous.

"You just seemed so serious," she was grinning now.

 _Thank GOD that he went with happily ever after rather than – well let's not go there._

"Of course I'm serious," he scoffed, "this is the most serious thing I've ever done".

As soon as she smiled at him, he looked a little more confident and said, "So, is that a yes?"

"Are you sure?" She asked. Kate had lived her whole life in the mental state of waiting for the other shoe to drop, what could possibly be the other shoe to this magnificent scenario.

"You do know how this works right?" He sounded like he was getting frustrated, so she knew she had to answer him.

"In that case," she put her arms around his neck as she continued," Richard Edgar Alexander Rogers Castle, yes, I will marry you." She was so excited that she really hadn't paid much attention to the ring, until he put it on her finger.

"Wow, it's big", she mused as she looked it over.

"Or," the boyish charm back at once, relieved after she agreed to be his wife, "You just have remarkably tiny fingers."

She had no more restraint and flung her arms around her _fiancé_ and kissed him a deep passionate kiss.

When she felt that she was ready to go home, she let her hands slide down his arms from his shoulders to his hands and kept her hold on to one as she let him guide her to her car. The reason for the initial phone call completely forgotten. She had gotten lost in her emotions and then the proposal.

After a night of pure bliss, they had completely forgotten the world around them as they celebrated the engagement in a very, very personal way.

It wasn't until the smell of breakfast made her stomach twist and she darted for the bathroom that she remembered.

 _Oh crap, I forgot to tell him the news._


	2. Chapter 2

**I hope everyone is enjoying reading this about as much as I enjoy writing it. This is the second chapter on my second story on this site.**

 **Let me know what you think, I find it very inspirational to know what they readers think.**

 **Be kind.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Castle or any of its bits.**

* * *

"Hey there," he was smiling at her with so much love in his eyes, "how's my lovely fiancé this morning?"

Not wanting to look like she had just emptied her stomach, she had brushed her teeth and showered. Walking out of the shower, she deciding against her own clothes, opting instead for a clean T-shirt and boxers of Ricks. She sure was glad that the case had closed the day before and she was free to stay home a little while longer before heading to the precinct to do paperwork.

She was still exhausted after an emotional day and a busy night.

"I'm great," she gave him a smile that stretched into a yawn, "just a little tired."

"When do you have to head back in to work?" He sounded as if he wished she didn't have to go at all.

"Not until later," She was still smiling, glancing down at her ring. "I wonder if this will interfere with them letting us work together." Her smile faltered, Gates might kick him out.

 _Should she keep the engagement a secret, what was the best way to keep the status quo at work? The smell of that food is making me hungry and nauseated at the same time. How is that possible?_

"Earth to Kate," he waved his hands, even the spatula, "hey, what's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" He looked somewhat concerned, but visibly relaxed as she looked in his eyes.

"I was just wondering if telling everyone about our engagement is the best idea, "she didn't know what the right course of action was, what would not make Gates fire Castle. Rick looked crestfallen at the idea of not being able to share his blissful news with everyone.

"What if you just don't tell everybody," he began, "hear me out, what if you just wore the ring but didn't mention it first hand?"

"Babe, I work with a bunch of detectives." She sighed, "they will notice straight away."

"I say let them." He sounded like he had made up his mind, he wanted everyone to know – to be able to shout it from the rooftops. "I love you Kate, and I think everyone knows that already."

His logic was flawless, so she kissed him softly and said, "you win, I just need to call my dad before I do anything else." She had her phone to her ear and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey, dad."

"Hi, Katie." His voice was a bit groggy from sleep still so he cleared his throat before he continued. "Is everything all right, did something happen?" His voice conveyed so much love.

"Yeah dad, everything is fine, and something did happen." Kate smiled to herself, knowing that she would be having a similar conversation with her father in a couple of months. Telling him life altering news, but now she stuck with the most pressing. "Rick proposed to me yesterday, I'm engaged!"

Her father was not known to wear his heart on his sleeve, "that's great Katie, congratulations." Kate knew this was as heartfelt as she would get from her father. She also knew that he really was very happy for her.

"Thanks, I'm so happy right now." Ever since her father had gotten himself clean and sober, their relationship had been great, she could confide in him, even things she sometimes didn't want to be thinking or feeling. "I wish mom was here," she simply stated.

"I know Katie, I do too," he sighed. "I love you, give my best to Rick and congratulations again."

"I love you too, dad." He hung up.

She walked back to the kitchen after her conversation with her father had ended. Rick appeared to be putting the finishing touches on his plating, he loved to make the food look either weird or very good there really was no in between.

"Hey, what did your dad say?" Rick sounded a tad bit nervous. _In his haste to propose, he had forgotten to ask Jim Beckett for his daughters' hand in marriage._

"He said to tell you congratulations from him," Rick let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "He's just happy that I'm happy."

Rick smiled at that and walked over towards her and wrapped her in a tight hug, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and took a deep breath, smelling her shampoo. "I love you and I am ecstatic that you are happy," he breathed out the words as he exhaled. He then kissed her neck and said, "Breakfast is ready."

Suddenly, the smell of food that had woken her this morning, that had made her hurl, was now very appetizing, so she dug in.

The first thing Kate did when she reached 21st, was to go down to the morgue. She had already told Lanie about the job in DC, she had also told her about her plan to talk to Castle after work and to have her phone with her in case she would need to talk after.

"Hey girl," Lanie said with her normal sass, adding "I'm a smack you".

"What?" Kate was surprised at the greeting, her mind having been so far from the fact that she was supposed to call her yesterday.

"You tell me that you're going to talk to Castle about a huge fight," she began, "and to be ready for waterworks if things went sour, and now 15 hours later you walk in here with no …" her voice trail off when she noticed the big ring on Kate's finger.

"Is that what I think it is?" Lanie was now incredulous, "you're telling me that you got engaged and didn't call?"

"Uhm, Lanie, I was a little busy," Kate looked at her pointedly, "celebrating with my new fiancé".

Lanie had already sauntered over to see the bling up close. "This ring is something serious", Lanie breathed.

"Oh, girl," Lanie pulled her best friend into a tight hug, "congratulations, you deserve this."

"Well, thank you," she shifted her feet and looked her best friend in the eyes. "I have a question for you," Kate hesitated just a second. "We don't have a date or anything, but I was wondering if, when the time comes." Kate sighed deeply, "will you be my maid of honor?"

"You know I will," Lanie said with a genuine smile plastered across her face. "So tell me everything, how did he do it?"

Kate sat down and told Lanie the whole story like only best friends can, with giggles and gasps at just the right times.

When she reached her floor, Kate beelined straight to her desk hoping to not draw attention to herself, or her now bejeweled ring finger.

"Hey guys," Kate looked over at Espo and Ryan," do we have a new case?"

Espo turned around in his seat and looked at Kate, seemingly a little worried. "No, we would have called you if there was." Kate knew they would, but wanted to get the ball rolling. She knew she had them worried yesterday with her phone call and then storming out. So she thought that this would be a fair way to open dialogue between them.

"Are you all right?" Javier Esposito always the big brother type, making sure that no one would try and hurt her. Even when he couldn't keep the evil away, he did his best to make sure that Kate could fight it herself.

Beckett nervously pushed her hair behind her ears, "Yeah, I'm fine Espo", she wasn't used to the ring yet, and she forgot that she was supposed to be covering her hand or keeping it in her pocket.

"Wowie, that is some rock", Espo joked.

"Is that the iceberg the titanic crashed into?" Kevin added, laughing.

"Oh, right", Kate pushed her hand in her pocket and stared at her friends. "Please don't make a big deal about this at work, I don't know if they will let Ri- Castle stay if they know officially that we are together."

The boys looked at each other, smiled and then walked over and each gave her a hug. "Congratulations, Beckett." Kevin seemed genuinely happy, while Javi looked like he would like nothing more than to have a serious conversation with Rick Castle.

"Detective," a stern voice said behind her, "a word, my office."

Kate made her way past Captain Gates and into her office, "Sir?"

"I just heard from the Deputy Director of the FBI," Gates looked deep into Kates eyes, as if trying to read her thoughts. "It seems the interview went well yesterday", her tone indicating that she was not in the least bit pleased that her lead detective was interviewing for a new job behind her back.

"I gave you my highest recommendation," Gates gaze softened.

"I – ah – thank you, sir," it was all she could manage. The nausea hit her instantly, and she just managed to run out of her bosses' office and to her own trash bin before her breakfast made a reappearance.

"Hey wow," Rick had just entered the precinct, he hurried over and held her hair and rubbed her back. "What's going on?" He sounded bewildered, "are you sick?"

Gates had followed the obviously sick detective, out of her office and saw Rick standing over Kate as she threw up. As Kate got herself stable enough to sit in her chair and drink water that Ryan handed her, she again nervously pushed her hair behind her ears and put her ring on full display, now in front of her boss.

"Castle," Gates said, the concern for Kate making her appear almost nice towards Rick.

"Yes, sir?" Rick sounded distracted as he stared at Kate, he looked so worried.

"Might I suggest," she said with a wave," you take your fiancé home?"

"Oh, right," he fumbled with his words, a rare occurrence, "duh", he hit his own forehead as a sign of, 'of course that's what he should be doing'.

He grabbed Kates things and tried to get her up, but she was frozen to her seat.

 _Did no one else notice that the Captain had used the word_ fiancé _. How much trouble would they be in?_

 _Oh, screw it._

She finally let Rick help her up, knowing that she was not a good idea to stay at work after throwing up her entire breakfast.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

 **Please let me know what you think of my story, I'd really appreciate it.**

* * *

"Kate," Rick nudged her shoulder softly.  
"Kate," he kissed her temple, then her cheek.

She knew she must have dosed off in the car on the way home, she had let Rick drive in case she felt sick again.

"Sweetheart," he whispered, "we're home, you need to get to bed."

She stirred in her seat as she registered his words, looked at him and smiled. _He called me sweetheart – that was a first, I like it._

"Do you want me to carry you, or do you think you can walk?" He was so caring and concerned.

"I can walk," she said, "I'm fine, just tired."

"Well," he didn't like this, "a lot tired, by the looks of it."

She chuckled, if only she had told him already. Then she could tell him that this was all his fault, the exhaustion, the nausea, all of it. Kate didn't want to just blurt it out in the car, she had wanted to tell him the day before. The announcement would have to be epic, about as epic as the day of the conception, if the tables were turned and Rick had information this big he would go all out. Kate had no ideas that could possibly top Ricks birthday surprise, but she had to find a way.

"Babe?" Kate didn't know how she would tell him, she just knew that she didn't want him to be out of the loop for any longer than need be, "would you ask Alexis to join us for dinner tonight?" She didn't know if Rick had told her about the engagement, and she wanted make sure her future step-daughter to knew about the ring first.

"Uhm, well," he hesitated a little, "are you sure that's a good idea? You might be contagious."

"I don't think it's contagious," she smiled to herself, adding for good measure, "or you would have caught it too."

"You know," he shook his head in concede, "you're right. I'll call her during her lunchbreak."

Kate had slowly made her way through the door and into the bedroom, where she unceremoniously ridded herself of her clothes. She put on Ricks things from this morning and crawled into bed.

"Rick?" she wasn't sure where he was as she was drifting out of consciousness, but heard footsteps coming her way. "Stay with me?" Kate said softly and patted the other side of the bed.

He didn't answer, but she felt him get in and move closer. She wrapped herself around him and was asleep in seconds, feeling completely safe in his arms.

She was startled awake by the sound of her phone ringing. She heard Rick voice, "Beckett's phone." She looked around for a second, to see if she could spot him. He had obviously left the bed when she was out cold. When she realized he was out of sight, she closed her eyes and listened intently.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, I'll tell her." She heard pride in his voice and wondered briefly what it could be about.

She heard his approach and opened her eyes, not wanting him to think she was still sleeping.

"Who was it?" her curiosity peeking, who could blame her, the phone call had been meant for her anyways.

"It was the AG's office," he was about to burst with pride, "you go the job, you just have to call them back tomorrow and accept." He was happy for her, but she wasn't sure how this would play out.

 _Can I possibly take the job, just to sit on the bench? The AG was not hiring her to sit her behind a desk and do paperwork, or would they just to be able to … No, no one would do that – it was stupid to even consider._

"Hey? Where did you go just now?" He could always tell when she was about to lose herself in her own thoughts.

"I was just thinking," she took a deep breath, "just wondering how we will make it work if I go to DC."

"If?" He looked straight into her eyes and held her gaze for a second. "Beckett, this is the opportunity of a lifetime." He always called her Beckett when it was about work, as a rule she set for them after they had crossed the line from partners to lovers. Not wanting to give people a reason to think things were different. "We will make this work, Kate," his voice was low, "I love you and that's all we need right now. I can come visit you in DC some weeks and you can come home and see everyone here some weeks, we will make this work."

 _Will he feel the same way after I tell him?_

"I love you too," she said softly and kissed him, putting as much feeling into it as she could.

"Alexis will be home any minute now," Rick told her as she walked in to the kitchen, kissing her lightly. She could really get used to this.

"Well, then I better get dressed," she left the kitchen heading for the bedroom and quickly changed into her own clothes.

"You're positive that you are feeling better?" He looked her over, she didn't look sick did she, or sound sick.

"I'm fine," she gave him a hug, "don't worry." He sighed and went back to work on their food.

He was putting the finishing touches on dinner when the front door opened and in walked the graceful ginger.

"Hi," she called into the loft as she quickly ridded herself of her umbrella and jacket, that was a little damp. "What's so important that I had to be home for dinner tonight?"

Rick put his arm firmly around Kates' waist as his face broke into a radiating smile, he took Kates hand out of her pocket and lifted it into view of his daughter and beaming announced, "we're getting married, she said yes."

 _Wait what, had he told Alexis about his intentions to propose?_

"Well, duh, dad." Alexis was not surprised at all by the big announcement, which was a bit of a letdown to Kate. Alexis walked over to Kate and hugged her tightly, "welcome to the family, Kate." It was so heartfelt that Kate had to quickly wipe away a stray tear that managed to escape. It always surprised her how much she could love the girl.

 _I will become her step-mother, I will have a step-DAUGHTER, and let's not forget the secret stowaway._ Kate involuntarily placed her hand on her stomach and walked into the dining room.

"So Kate," Alexis looked at Kate over her plate as they ate their food, "what do you think of the ring?"

Kate smiled as her eyes darted to her left ring finger and back at her step-daughter to be and sighed. "It's big," she let out a shaky laugh, "but it's beautiful."

"Well, I'm glad you like it," she was looking at her father with a smugness that rivalled only his own, "see I told you she'd like it! I'm glad I talked you out of your 'bigger is always better theory'!"

 _Yes, thank god, it was already too much._

* * *

 **This chapter was mostly to prepare you for the next one, the big reveal. There is some info that I had to get across.**

 **One being that Alexis was not the last one to know about the engagement, and that she was not in Costa Rica with Pi. Mostly because I dislike the Pi character on the show and didn't think I could represent him in a polite manner. So I decided to do it my way, as is implied with the AU tag.**

 **Please let me know what you think. Sorry if you feel like I'm bombarding you with updates, it's just that I've been very inspired to write this fic and this/my version of events.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, does one need to do this for every chapter or is it enough to just post it on the first?**

 **The timeline is a little skewed, I'm setting up the things in Watershed as if they happen on the 10** **th** **of May rather than the 13** **th** **which is when the show aired. This then fits with Mother's Day, which was on the 12** **th** **of May in 2013.**

* * *

 _Tomorrow is Mother's Day; I will tell him then. This will be my first Mother's Day with the little peanut on the way._ She was exhausted, she was only about 8 weeks along give or take, and she had never been so tired.

Dinner with Alexis had been great, they had quickly moved on with the conversation away from the obvious engagement and on to the very cute barista at the café down the street. Alexis was smitten and it appeared from a distance that the barista welcomed the attention.

After dinner the two Castles had taken care of the cleanup, noting that Kate was about to pass out at the table.

"Is she all right?" Alexis sounded a little worried.

"She's fine, just had some bug today, it totally wore her out." Rick replied, not as much worry in his voice as there had been this morning.

"Kate, sweetheart," he stroked her cheek and she smiled and leaned into the touch.

She hummed and stretched as she stood up. "Time for bed?" she asked and headed for the bedroom. He just nodded slowly and watched her as she went.

She was already asleep when he came to bed.

She woke up early the next day, still a little groggy – but on a mission. Rick was still sleeping and didn't stir when she snuck out of bed and into the bathroom. Morning sickness had not hit her yet so she quickly showered and got dresses, then hurried to the kitchen and grabbed some saltines and a bottle of water. In hopes of keeping the crackers down, she only had a couple and a small sip of water. Having read online that you should not get too full, and to not drink liquids with food.

 _Please be good for mommy_ , Kate thought. _We need to get things just right for daddy. This is kind of his day, he's finally going to know you exist._

She snuck out and got in her car, she had planned what she would need for the big reveal.

She was walking through an aisle full of clothes for newborns, she had first thought of buying something that said something lame like _I 3 dada_ written on it, but the one she bought was just too perfect to pass on.

She had done some research before heading out and was happy to find that everything she wanted to buy was available and that the embroiderer was quickly done.

As she looked through the baby department she called Alexis, who answered on the second ring.

"Kate," her voice quizzical, "are you all right, you were gone this morning, didn't answer you phone and dad got worried."

"Is he there right now?" Was all Kate said back.

"No, he went to check if you went to the precinct," Alexis told her, still sounding a little unsure.

"Great," Kate breathed, "I wanted to ask if you were willing to join me in celebrating Mother's Day – for your dad."

Alexis laughed on the other end, "did he put you up to this?" Alexis asked, still laughing.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well, he has made some claims throughout the years that he deserves it, seeing as he raised me by himself."

"Of course he would do that," Kate now laughing with Alexis at Ricks expanse. "But what do you say? Are you in?"

"Sure," Alexis said, then added, "sounds fun."

"OK, I'll talk to you later and let you in on the plan." Kate was smiling now, "bye, bud."

Her plan was coming along great. She had made a mental note to come back here and buy more things for her little peanut. She decided it looked a little suspicious to come home with bags filled with baby clothes.

She finished her shopping and got everything as she wanted it for the reveal. She had done some research before heading out so it was done quickly.

"Where are you?" Rick said as he answered the phone, obvious worry in his voice.

"Well," she thought for a second, "on my way to see my mom, want to come meet me there?"

"Yeah, you sure?" Rick sounded as if he was incredulous at the offer.

"I think it's time she meets my husband to be." Kate smiled to herself at her choice of words, _he will be my husband soon._

When Kate arrived at the cemetery, Rick was already waiting for her in the parking lot with a bouquet of pink roses. Without a word Kate walked over to him and hugged him tightly, he always knew how to make her fall in love with him even more.

They walked hand in hand towards her mother's grave.

"Hey mom," Kate began out loud, "just wanted you to finally meet Rick, your future son-in-law."

"Hey there, Mrs. Beckett," Rick said as he lay the flowers at the base of her headstone. "Good to finally get an introduction," he continued, "I've heard so much about you, and I'd just like to thank you for raising such a wonderful person. She truly is extraordinary."

Kate wiped a tear that ran down her cheek, "Thank you, Rick."

She had bought her mother a card for the occasion, she didn't know what would be appropriate to write in it, so she kept it short and simple.

 _Happy Mother's Day,_

 _Love Katie and peanut._

Kate believed her mother was always with her, watching over her, so it needed no further explanation.

They drove back in silence, her head too full of memories of her mother and thoughts on future memories she would never be a part of. It broke her heart.

"You miss her," Rick said, not a question, but a statement, as he wiped away a tear she hadn't realized she had shed.

It was now time to get the feast ready, "Hey Mr. Mom," Kate giggled, "want to help me get everything ready for a Mother's Day for you?" this earned her a very funny look and her giggle turned into a heartfelt laugh.

"Shouldn't I be free of manual labor on _my_ day?" He said as he started helping out.

"I'll let you sit back and relax on Father's day," she shot back and blew him a kiss.

When Alexis was finally home, she helped bring all of the food onto the dining room table before they dug in. Kate had managed to keep her crackers down all day, and was very ready to eat some real food.

When everyone had finished eating and they had moved to the living room, Kate and Rick sat snuggled on the couch. Just as she sat down Alexis suddenly stood up as if the chair was a hot plate and walked to her purse and then back again, handing over a gift to her father, before sitting down and getting comfortable.

"Happy Mother's Day, dad." She said it with a smile.

On the card was a scribbled poem along with some generic hallmark phrase or saying. The poem made Rick laugh softly, so Kate read it over his shoulder.

 _Roses are red,  
violets are blue.  
Who needs a mother,  
when I've got you?_

Kate smiled, but felt sad for Alexis. Kate had gotten 19 years with her mother, granted Alexis' mother was alive, but wanted nothing to do with raising this wonderful, smart, beautiful girl in front of her.

Rick had ripped the wrapping paper off his present, and was staring at it with a loving look in his eyes. Alexis had given him a photo of the three of them, taken at his birthday party, in a frame that had the word _family_ on the plaque.

Kate caught Alexis' eye and gave her a warm, loving smile at the gesture.

"Thank you, Alexis."

When Kate pulled out 3 identical bags, she surprised both Rick and Alexis, this was going to be fun.

She started by handing Alexis and Rick their bags but told them to not open them yet. She had written Ricks card yesterday, she had been thinking about how to tell him for a while, for that reason alone, the card read like a letter.

 _Dear Rick,  
We are at a time in our partnership, our relationship, that is full of new beginnings. We have a lot of questions that need answers and decisions to be made.  
With that, I hope that you know, that I know that you are a wonderful man, and that I love you with all of my heart.  
I decided to throw you a mother's day celebration for a couple of reasons, most important one being that you deserve it.  
You are an amazing father, proven every day by the fact that you raised a wonderful, smart, caring daughter that loves you so much. It makes me love you just a little bit more every time I see it._

 _Yours, always._

 _Kate_

She watched him read the card and as his eyes found hers, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Always…" He smiled.

 _It's now or never._

"Alexis would you open yours?" Kate turned to face her.

Alexis took out a light blue adult size footie overall, confusion plastered across her face.

"Ahh, thanks Kate," Alexis had looked at her as if she believed Kate had lost her mind.

"Look at the back," Kate said with a chuckle.

On the back it read,

 _Alexis Castle  
Est. 1993_

Still confusion shone from Alexis' eyes. She took out her own greyish brown one and turned it around revealing,

 _Kate Beckett  
Est. 1979_

She finally looked at Rick, who had his hand in his bag and about to pull out his own navy one.

"Let's see yours," Kate smiled, waiting.

 _This is really it, he will know in about 5 seconds._

He pulled out his own and unfolded it, as he did, his jaw dropped to the floor. Rick looked at the green tiny footie pinned to his own, spotting the words written on the back he gasped.

"Really?" He stood up, "REALLY?" He was getting so excited.

"Really." Was all she said and then laughed nervously.

"What's going on?" Alexis obviously surprised by her father's outburst.

"We're having a baby?" Rick whispered, still looking at Kate.

"That's what the doctor said," Kate replied with a smile, her hand purposely resting on her stomach.

"This is so exciting!" He exclaimed, completely thrilled. "Best Mother's Day ever!"

"Wait, what?" Alexis questioned.

But before Kate could elaborate, Ricks dropped his footie and took Kate in his arms and soon his lips were on hers, spinning her around.

The green footie in plain view, just under Ricks name on his navy one, were the words,

 _Baby Castle  
Est 2013_

"You really are extraordinary, Katherine Beckett." He breathed, still holding her in his loving embrace.

* * *

 **I love the fact that you read what I write, and would like to thank you for that.**

 **I seriously considered a lavish party, skywriting and whatnot, to have him guess it. Let's put it like this, I explored all options on this reveal, but ultimately decided that intimate was the best way to go, and felt that a mother's day for Rick was a funny way to do it.**

 **For it to work as a mother's day gag, Alexis had to be there. I however always felt that she should be part of the reveal. In early drafts she was helping Kate surprise Rick, but I know for a fact that Kate would always want to tell Rick before anyone else. So I scrapped that idea and went with Alexis being a close second.**

 **I hope that this does not disappoint you, I know that I wrote that Kate wanted it to be epic. But in Kates mind, all of them being there together was part of what made it epic.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing Castle related.**

 **There was a guest comment about Jim and Martha not being at the reveal, I couldn't reply directly to that person. To answer your question; I considered it, but ultimately wanted to have an opportunity for Rick to tell his mother, and I didn't feel like Jim fit in at Ricks Mother's Day.**

 **There was another guest comment about it being unfair for Kate to keep the pregnancy a secret when he proposed. I kind of feel like I explained that with her being swept up in the emotion of believing they were about to break up, only to have him propose. It became an afterthought to tell him at that point, which yes, might be a mistake on her part, but ultimately I think it played out nicely. I might be a bit biased though.**

* * *

Alexis coughed pointedly, causing Rick to let go of Kate.

He smiled at Alexis, "you're going to be a big sister, how crazy is that?"

Alexis couldn't help but smile at her father, "well it's about time, I'm old enough to have kids myself."

"Say what now," Rick had glanced at the green overall, when his head shot up again to leer at his daughter.

Alexis continued, obviously for the sole purpose of messing with her father. "Yeah, dad, I'm almost the same age as you were when you had me."

"Stop it with your truth and logic," he shook his head, "you are a little girl with pigtails. Besides, I'm way, way too young to be a grandfather!"

"it's a scary when both of you are right." Kate said with a laugh, knowing that Alexis was just teasing her father. "Alexis is technically old enough, but we are also way, way too young to be grandparents. How about we start with the little peanut, then see in a year or ten!"

"Ten sounds good, fifteen sounds better," Rick said, mostly to himself, obviously not finding the humor in the conversation – even with the two women in his life in stiches.

"So how far along are you?" Alexis said, just as she managed to catch her breath.

"Well, I have my suspicions on when little peanut came to be," Kate was subconsciously running her fingers up and down her, as of yet nonexistent, bump. "I do have a doctor's appointment on Friday, then we will know for sure, the expected due date and if we are lucky we might hear the heartbeat."

The look of pure love in Ricks eyes gave her butterflies.

"Kate," Alexis had become very serious, "thank you for including me today."

"Of course, bud," Kate looked over at Alexis, "wouldn't want it any other way."

Alexis smiled and stood up to hug Kate, "I really am very happy that you are part of the family."

Kate could feel her eyes fill, and quickly blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall.

Alexis walked away, leaving the parents-to-be to talk and plan for the future.

"I figured that we could tell our parents after the appointment, as soon as we have the due date in fact," Kate said as she sat down again, "I know normally people wait until the first trimester is over …"

"I'm pretty sure that we will not be able to resist talking about the baby for an entire month," Rick interjected, earning him a thankful smile from Kate. "A baby," Rick sighed, sounding utterly content.

"But only family for now, I don't want to tell anyone else." Kate was sure this would not go over too well.

"Kate, we need to tell Gates, you can't be out in the field anymore. You might get hurt, both of you!" He looked almost desperate, trying to make her understand the risk her job entailed.

"I can ride the desk without telling everyone, and going to a crime scene isn't so bad, neither is interrogation." Kate tried to be diplomatic, "if I promise to stay away from fights and arrests, will you let me go to work?"

"Well, if you promise to always wear your Kevlar," he said, still worried, "I'll think about it!"

"Babe, it's not like you won't be standing right next to me," she smiled and put her hand on his arm, "I know you will keep us safe."

Changing the subject Rick asked, "what time is our appointment?"

"It's at 10:30," her smile warmer now, "I checked your calendar before making the appointment, so you can definitely make it."

"Thank you," he took his arm and wrapped it around her waist and held her close.

"Always." She leaned into his chest and closed her eyes, she really was exhausted.

 _Well this went better than expected, now we just need to make the big decisions._

"Rick?"

"Kate?"

"I think I have to tell DC that I can't make it." She sighed deeply, she had really wanted that job.

"I'm sorry, well not sorry, more elated." Rick mused, "well selfishly of course, I want you all to myself, and it seems that's what I'll get."

She had to smile at that.

"Rick?"

"Kate?" His tone now amused.

"Do we want a shotgun wedding, or a teeny tiny ring-bearer/flower-girl?" Kate's voice made it obvious that she was very close to falling asleep.

"How about we talk about it tomorrow," Rick chuckled, "besides there won't be any weddings in space before you start to show, so maybe our tiny person will be the youngest in space."

He could hear her breathing had changed and she was obviously asleep.

 _That was one very weird dream. Tiny person in space, what was he talking about? There was no way he believed she would get married in space was there?_

"Rick?" Kate said as she got up.

"Kate?" He groaned as he stretched and then yawned.

"We are _not_ getting married in space," she deadpanned, "it's not gonna happen, babe."

Friday came along very fast, and they were getting ready for the doctor's appointment. Martha was back from LA and it was getting harder by the day to keep their little secret.

"I'm so glad we can tell her soon," Rick said, "I've been wanting to tell everyone I meet, random strangers and I can't even come home and talk to my mother about it."

Kate laughed, "well, we'll have the grandparents-to-be over for brunch on Sunday anyways, want to tell them then?"

"And wait two whole days?" Rick was not having it, "no, I already invited them to have dinner with us tonight. This will be out in the open, then and only then can we start getting the nursery ready."

"Rick? Wouldn't it be more prudent to move me in to the loft before the unborn child that isn't due until close to the end of the year?" Kate couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"Right, you don't really live here yet, we need to fix this." He pulled out his phone and walked into his study.

"Hello, I need to order a moving service, Richard Castle" Rick began. "yes, I need to have my fiancé's stuff packed up and moved over to our apartment."

 _Our apartment, sounds like a dream. But shouldn't we be the ones moving all of the stuff?_

He was listening with a very concentrated look on his face, she couldn't help letting out a small laugh. _He was having all of her stuff moved here, today._ He made all the arrangements and had her stuff put in temporary storage in the basement.

"It's all taken care of, you just need to change your address and we are set." Rick exclaimed proudly.

"Someone was maybe a little bit overly excited at the idea of me moving in." She couldn't help but laugh at how proud he looked. "Thank you," she gave him a soft kiss, "I'm excited too, but if we don't leave right now, we're going to be late for our appointment."

"Right, let's go,"

* * *

 **So, as per usual, I would like to thank you for reading, following, reviewing and favoriting (sounds wrong somehow). This weekend has been great, and I hope to be able to update during the week. Fair warning, I won't really have a day of to write until Thursday, but I will try to add at least a chapter or two before then.**

 **I hope you are still enjoying this little story of mine and that you are excited about Jim and Martha finding out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own none of the Castle characters, but will gladly write about them for you.**

* * *

If Kate had, had any lingering doubts that Rick was all in, they were squashed when they heard the heartbeat for the first time.

He held her hand as the doctor told them to listen, and when the first beat could be heard, they looked at each other and she could see the tears filling his eyes as he smiled from ear to ear. She was smiling as she leaned back to rest her head on the examination chair, closed her eyes and listened to her little peanuts heartbeat.

 _This is it, this is what heaven sounds like._

After a little while Rick held out a hand to help her get up, so she could change back into her clothes. They sat down with the doctor in his office.

"Well, it appears you'll be having a Christmas baby," the doctor said happily. "Your due date is December 23rd.

"Wow," Kate gasped, "this is really real."

Rick chuckled, "because the morning sickness didn't help make this real."

She noticed the doctor cough something that sounded suspiciously close to laughter. "Well, I know it's real," she tried to reason, "it's just, we know when peanut is coming, we have a deadline."

"You are right, sweetheart," his tone a little more serious, "now we just need to get the nursery ready. But first, we need to get you to work."

The elevator dinged, "are you sure you can't stay?" Kate asked, adding, "I kind of like having someone around that knows about little peanut." She smiled as he ran his hand over her stomach and kissed her temple.

"As much as I would love to hang out and watch you do paperwork," he said earnestly, "I need to get things ready for dinner tonight, and check on the movers."

"Ok, Castle," She said pointedly, "see you later."

He tugged on her jacket as she was walking away, pulling her in to a corner next to the elevator. "What are -?" Was all she managed to say, before his lips were on hers. Her automatic reflex was to put one hand in his hair and another around his waist and pull him even closer.

 _What are we doing? We are at work!_

She pulled away quickly, "Uhm, Rick, as much as I prefer this over our handshakes …" she began.

"I know, I'm sorry," he said, interrupting her. "I just, we are going to have the best Christmas ever!"

"I know," a loving smile across her still flushed face, "I have to go to work now." She turned the corner and awkwardly placed her fingers over her mouth, not quite sure how to act. She took a deep breath, steadying herself as she walked to her desk, sat down and started on paperwork.

"Boys!" Castle yelled over the bullpen, "take care of my fiancé today!" The elevator doors closed and he was gone.

Gates had kept her on desk duty after she threw up during their meeting and Kate had been getting stir crazy being so out of the loop, but right now, being able to sit down and keep her eyes on a case file was a blessing. Although it didn't have the desired effect.

"That was some goodbye," Esposito laughed.

 _Damn it, Rick, this is why we stay professional at work!_ Her embarrassment making her annoyed.

"Well, newly engaged bliss," Ryan noted knowingly. "When Jenny and I got engaged we were always making out. Man time flies, it feels like we just got married and now we're having a baby."

Color was slowly rising in both Kate's and Kevin's faces at the mentioning of a baby. Kate recovered quickly and congratulated her friend. "Hey, could you act surprised when Jenny tells you?" He nervously looked around as if half expecting to see his wife walk in and berate him.

"Of course," Kate smiled, "I understand a woman's need to share this kind of news themselves." Kate subconsciously ran her hand over her stomach as she went back to work.

The rest of her workday was uneventful, so after all her paperwork was done, and there were no new cases, she went home on time.

"You are in so much trouble, mister," Kate called into the loft as she shook off her coat and walked in. "Oh, hey," Kate was startled by the presence of her father in her living room, she didn't expect him until later. She walked over to him and hugged him, "hi, dad".

"Hello, Katie, how are you?"

"What? I'm fine, why do you ask?" She flushed scarlet, realizing she had overreacted a little. _No one will notice, right?_

"Mother will be home shortly," Rick said hastily, obviously trying to cover for Kate. "We will be having a wonderful family dinner to celebrate."

"Our engagement," Kate added quickly. _Why are we so bad at this, we should be able to keep our cool? W_ e _are both adults, engaged adults, that interrogate people for a living! We can do this!_

Kate gave Rick a sideways glance, as if to say 'dude, we need to keep calm', he nodded just enough for her to notice.

"So Jim," he began, "would you like a drink?" Rick winced and smiled apologetically, trying to fix his mistake he added, "we have water, coffee, tea, soda …"

Jim just smiled, being used to such fumbles, "water would be fine."

"Hello, darlings," Martha said loudly, waving, she always had to make an entrance, "ah, Jim, nice to see you again. Such wonderful news about the kids, don't you think."

"Yes, Martha," he smiled sweetly at his daughter. Kate beamed at him, "yes, it is."

"Let's eat." Rick said gesturing at the table, "Alexis! Dinner!"

"It looks great, babe," Kate smiled at Rick. Kate had learned that saltines usually helped with settling her stomach and was now able to eat a proper dinner most nights.

"Yeah, dad, good job." Alexis agreed as she walked down the stairs.

Dinner went great and they talked about Martha's time in LA and Jim's recent trip to his cabin. Alexis told them about school and then it was time for desert.

Rick put out individual deserts and a wrapped present next to each plate. _What did you do?_ Kate knew he wanted to give the others gifts, but was surprised by her own.

"Dig in," Rick said with a sparkle in his eyes.

Martha and Alexis automatically reached for the gifts, obvious curiosity got the best of them. Jim slowly followed suit. Kate wanted to see the reaction to the sonograms, so she waited to open hers.

Martha opened her gift and looked at Kate with eyes gleaming with unshed tears, "I knew it, _I_ knew it" She closed her box and walked over to Kate to hug her, "a mother knows these things."  
Alexis stopped unwrapping her gift to watch her grandmother's reaction to the news and smiled along with Rick.

Jim's hands shook as he held the framed sonogram photo that had been in the gift box. "Katie, is this," he fumbled on his words, "are you -, am I going to be a, – a grandfather?" he finally finished as he stood up to walk over to his daughter.

As Jim wrapped his hands tightly around his daughter, Rick said proudly, "consider this an early Christmas present, baby Castle is due December 23rd." Kate let go of her father, just enough to look into his eyes, he was crying with joy, and that pushed the tears she had been holding to shed.

"Wow, Katie," Jim said as he wiped away the tears from his cheeks. "I'm so happy for you, this was our dream for you." There was no need to elaborate on the plural he used, Johanna had always been vocal about her want for her daughter to have a loving family, with lots of kids. She hugged him again tighter.

There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

"Crème brulee anyone?" Rick asked, "I made it myself."

 _Always there to break the tension, God I love this man._

Alexis sat down and noticed her gift again, it having been forgotten in the joy of the baby news. It was a key, "dad?"

"Yes, pumpkin," Rick looked up at a quizzical Alexis.

"Why are you giving me a key?" She asked.

"Ok, now this is just an offer," he was somewhat flustered, "don't feel like you need to or that you are being pushed to the side. Kate and I just thought you might want an occasional break, either from us or later on from the sleepless nights."

"Dad," she urged.

"It's the key to my apartment," Kate said simply, "just to cover our bases, you are welcome to decline and stay here, you are welcome to move full time to the apartment or you could split your time."

"I, wow," was all Alexis said.

"Well with a baby on the way, we thought you might need a break sometimes," Kate continued, "from me, your dad, your little brother or sister, any of it."

"Thank you, this is so cool."

"This does not mean that you get to be a stranger in this house, we will have you know!" Rick said in mocking stern voice.

"I second that," Kate said lovingly. _I hope she knows how much I love her._

Kate had peeked into her box and was shocked to find a stunning charm bracelet with one stone hanging from it, a beautiful blue topaz. She closed the box again, deciding to keep it to herself a little while longer, no one seemed to notice when she put the box in her pocket.

When it was time for bed, Kate snuggled against Rick, exhausted after an emotional dinner.

"Babe? Why is there a blue topaz on the bracelet?" Kate asked.

"It's the birthstone for December." Rick sounded surprised by the question.

"I know that, what I meant to say was, why is there only a blue topaz on my bracelet?" She corrected herself.

"What do you mean?" Rick sounded so confused.

"Well if it is to represent Castle babies, then it's missing one," she smiled at him, "isn't it?"

"You mean ...?"

"Yeah, it feels like it's missing an opal."

"You amaze me."

He leaned in and kissed her, "I love you, both of you," he whispered as he ran his hand over her stomach.

* * *

 **So the opal is for October, I wasn't sure if there has ever been mention of Alexis' birthday so I just went with Molly's.**

 **Sorry for the delay of the chapter, I have been working.**

 **Hope it's worth the wait.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle characters or well, anything connected to the show. If I did, I wouldn't have Stana leave …**

* * *

 _He's beautiful._

Kate had the strangest dream, and all she could remember as she woke up was her mother telling her 'he's beautiful'. _Did she mean peanut?_

"Kate, baby, I love you," Rick grumbled as she turned on her reading lamp, "but it's 3am, go back to sleep."

"What if I'm no good at this?" She didn't know where the fear came from.

"No good at what?" Rick raised his head to look at her.

"All of it! Wife, mother …" she knew it was irrational to an extent but couldn't stop herself.

"You will be great, you are great at everything you do." He continued, "you are Katherine Beckett, lead homicide detective, with the highest closing rate of any detective in New York," he smiled softly. "Plus you have been there for Alexis from day one, that has been very motherly of you, it's been good practice. Being a mother isn't just about knowing when to change a diaper, that part only lasts the first 3 years. It's the molding the child into the best they can be, and you have been a big part in doing that with Alexis. I know you'll do great with this one too."

"Where would I be without you?" She sighed as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

"Well probably not pregnant," he mused, "or full of self-doubt."

She laughed at that, "well true, I hadn't even considered having kids until I met you."

The next couple of weeks went by quickly and uneventfully, except for the fact that Alexis had finally asked out the barista and they had a wonderful time.

"Kate? I was wondering if you would like to go over a few things with me?" He asked.

She walked into his study and saw that he had a few binders open on his desk.

"What's going on?" She had reached his desk and noticed a few photos of cribs in the binder on top.

"Well, I think we should start making decisions about the nursery. So I had my interior designer friend send over some samples and ideas for us to look over." He looked at her and smiled, obviously proud of his own efforts.

"Wow, babe," she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "This is amazing, I like this one," she said pointing to a white crib set. "How should we decorate? Should we maybe wait until we know the sex, or just keep it unisex?"

"How about we keep it in the earthy tones, browns and greens," be began, "then it will work with either pink or blue." He started flipping through the binder and when he found what he was looking for turned it towards Kate, "something like this."

"Wow, it's perfect." He had made a collage of his ideal nursery, it had light beige walls with a white crib and changing table a light green rocker and the bedding matched a mural of trees and a few animals.

"Fantastic, that settles that then," he said proudly. "On to the next order of business, the engagement party!"

"Engagement party? I didn't know we were doing that," she was a bit shocked.

 _He hadn't mentioned an engagement party, shouldn't they be focusing on setting a date for the wedding? Before or after peanuts arrival._

"Uhm, babe?" She regained her composure, "shouldn't we be making the wedding a priority? We need to do that soon if we want to do it before I start to show or not until after peanut is born."

"I say we wait," he said, "that way we can plan the perfect wedding, what do you think?"

"Well, I think it sounds reasonable." _Do I want to wait and have a baby out of wedlock?_

"Great, let's plan an engagement party." He said, quickly adding, "we should have it at our place in the Hamptons."

" _Our_ place, huh?" she chuckled.

"Well, yes, it'll be _our_ place legally soon enough," he said earnestly.

"I like it, _our_ place, _our_ future, _our_ lives, _our_ baby," she kissed him softly.

They had decided on the next weekend as a way of celebrating their engagement and announcing the pregnancy, she would be about 12 weeks by then.

When Kate came home late one night after work, she was exhausted, this pregnancy was kicking her butt. Rick and Martha had already had dinner so Kate grabbed the plate Rick had made for her from the fridge and put it in the microwave. _I love how he takes care of me, I think I'll give him a thank you kiss._ When she walked into his office, a couple of things happened, Martha and Rick stopped mid-sentence and then she closed his computer.

"Katherine, what are you doing here?" Martha asked surprised by Kates sudden appearance.

"I, wha-, I live here," Kate was suspicious of their behavior but chalked it to hormones, for the time being.

"Of course you do," Martha huffed, "no, I mean in the study."

"I wanted to thank Rick for …" She stopped, "what were you doing?"

"We were just," Rick began, looking unsure, "mother?"

"Katherine, darling," she said breathily, "Richard was just teaching be how to find some information on the web."

"Right," Kate knew she sounded a little skeptical but it couldn't be helped. _What are those two up to?_

Kate walked over to Rick, kissed his cheek and said, "thank you for making dinner." There was a _beep beep_ from the kitchen and she went to get her food, leaving the door open on her way out and was a little surprised when they shut it again.

 _What could they possibly be hiding, was this about the party? About protecting me? Damn it, I wish I could figure it out._

Alexis came home as Kate was loading her plate into the dishwasher, so Alexis didn't see her as she walked straight into the study. "Did she see you?" she heard Rick say. "No she wasn't there," Alexis replied. "Good, close the door, dear," Martha said and the door was closed.

 _Et tu, Brute. They are all in on it? They better have some explanation for this secrecy._

Kate was getting frustrated, her hormones didn't help much and she decided to shower and go to bed.

When Rick entered the room she pretended to be asleep, hoping for some tidbit about the secret conversations behind closed doors, but he just changed and went to bed without a word. As he got himself settled he put his arm around her waist and pulled her in close, kissing her temple and whispered, "how did I get this lucky." Kate let her body melt into his and was a sleep in seconds.

The party was this weekend and Kate was struggling to find a dress to wear, she was just starting to notice the changes in her body. She wasn't really showing unless you really knew what to look for, but it was enough for her not to feel comfortable in any of her clothes.

"Babe, I have nothing to wear on Saturday!" Kate called over her shoulder, Rick was trying to get some writing done, but Kate was continuously breaking his concentration and she knew it but didn't care much at this moment.

"What do you mean? You have a closet full of clothes." Rick said, clearly distracted.

"None of them fit anymore, my body is changing too fast," Kate complained. "I wanted to wear this dress," she held one up for him to see, "but my boobs are too big."

"I know it's great," Rick smiled to himself, Kate was not entertained.

"You are not helping," she growled.

"Why don't you and Alexis go shopping for a new dress?" Rick suggested.

"That would be great, I'll talk to her tomorrow morning."

Alexis and Kate were getting along great, Alexis had even agreed to be her fathers' best man. So when Kate suggested shopping, Alexis was all for it.

They had decided that they would check out some dress shops and see if they found the perfect one. As they headed for the store they walked past a bridal store, with nice dresses in the windows.

"Kate?" Alexis looked mischievous. "Should we look at wedding dresses?"

Kate looked through the window, "yes, I think we need to. I mean I need to see what they have to offer, but it will have to be pretty amazing to top the dress I want to wear."

"What do you mean? Have you found a dress?" Alexis asked.

"No, well, not really," Kate was shy all of a sudden, "I just always thought I would wear my mother's dress." She admitted sheepishly.

"I like that," Alexis said, "but we need to see what they have for Lanie right? Bridesmaids dresses!" She smiled, "and there's no harm in trying on one or two wedding dresses right?"

"Right," Kate smiled too. "Thanks for doing this with me."

"Sure thing," Alexis took Kates hand and they walked in. They found Lanies dress, and Kate tried on a few before deciding she was still hoping to be able to fit into her mother's dress.

Because Kate had to work, Rick had offered to take Martha up to the Hamptons to get everything set up. This meant that Kate and Alexis had the loft to themselves and decided to have a little girls' night in, just the two of them on Thursday.

After manis and pedis and a homemade facial, they had some hot chocolate and watched a movie, some chickflick with that really hot actor.

Kate looked at Alexis and asked her pointedly, "so, what is this big surprise your dad has in store for me on Saturday?"

"I, uhm, what? There's no surprise," Alexis stumbled on her words, adding in a whisper, "at least not if I tell you."

"I heard that," Kate smiled, hoping she was about to crack her step-daughter.

"I won't tell you, otherwise the surprise will be ruined." Alexis met her for a second and then quickly back at the movie.

"Oh, fine," Kate laughed, _I knew he was planning something._


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: as always I am just a humble fan, not in any way an owner of anything Castle related.**

* * *

As she was leaving work on Friday, she was struck by sudden dread. _Why did I agree to tell everyone about the baby at the same time? This is going to be one hell of a party and I can't even drink to get through it, why did Rick invite so many people. I would have been fine with just our closest family and friends. There were almost 200 people coming and we invited 238, it's crazy for an engagement/ letting everyone know you're pregnant party._

She didn't sleep very well that night, she was nervous and it didn't help that Rick wasn't there to calm her down.

Kate was packing for the weekend, looking for something nice to wear to the Sunday brunch tomorrow with Rick, Alexis, Jim, Martha, Lanie, Javi, Kevin and Jenny. _I need to start buying maternity clothes._ She settled on a loose fitting purple shirt and a pair of boyfriend jeans that she could still button.

"Alexis, honey?" she called up the stairs, "are you ready to go?"

"Give me five minutes," she called back.

"Do you need any help?" Kate asked as she walked up the stairs towards Alexis' bedroom.

"No, that's ok," she sounded a little nervous, "I'll be down in two minutes, just need to find my blue blazer"

"OK, I'll just call Lanie and see if she and Javi have picked up Kev and Jenny." She said as she descended the stairs and dialed the phone.

Instead of a greeting, Lanie simply said, "we are outside the Ryan residence, we will be leaving in 10 minutes."

"Great, thanks," she smiled.

Alexis was just walking down the stairs as Kate hung up and they too, were ready to leave.

The drive to the Hamptons was uneventful, the weather was beautiful and it looked like a good day for a party. When they pulled up in the driveway the valet took their bags inside and then parked the car in the garage.

When Kate walked into the house, she was speechless. Rick had transformed the house from beautiful to absolutely stunning, there were flowers and decorations everywhere she looked, without being over the top.

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite trio," Rick said as he greeted Kate and Alexis, pointedly running his hand over Kate's stomach.

"Do you have everything?" He asked Alexis.

"Yes, got it all, everything I might need," she blushed a little as she took her bags and went to her bedroom.

"What was that about?" Kate asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, what do you mean?" Rick said, "can't a father check on his daughter?"

"Sure, he can," Kate said. "I should go shower and get ready for this party."

"All right sweetheart, I'll see you in a little bit." He kissed her temple and asked one of the servers to carry her luggage.

After she had showered, Lanie and Alexis came into her room and they all got ready together. They had done each other's hair and makeup and with 45 minutes to spare, they only had to put on their dresses and go down to host the event with Rick.

"Ugh, I swear," Kate complained as she tried to find a comfortable way to put on her dress.

"What is it honey?" Lanie asked.

"It's nothing, this dress is just so uncomfortable," she grunted as she put on the dress, getting a little frustrated with it.

"How so? Maybe we can fix it," Lanie mused.

"No, it's just squishing my boobs," Kate said, she had now put on the dress and was stunning.

"Well they are looking a little fuller than usual," Lanie said absentmindedly, Kate glanced at Alexis, startled. As if on que Lanie looked at Kate, "You're pregnant and you didn't tell me!" Lanie half laughed, half screamed.

"Shhh, I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Kate said sheepishly, "but could you _please_ not tell  everyone else!"

"I'm supposed to be your best friend …," Lanie started.

"You are, you really are my best friend," Kate interrupted her, "but I wanted to wait until my first  
trimester was over before I told anyone."

"Alexis knew," Lanie argued. It had been obvious by Alexis' reaction, or lack there off that she had been in the know.

"Alexis is my kid, and the big sister," Kate shot back. "Seriously the only people that know are Rick, Martha, my dad, my doctor and the three of us in this room. Unless anyone overheard you earlier."

Alexis had stopped dead in her track at Kates words.

"The plan is to tell everyone at the party, but I wanted to tell you in private beforehand," Kate said apologetically, "I just didn't know how and then you guessed it, so," she took a deep breath, "now you know."

"Wow," Lanie said, "this is amazing, congratulations sweetie. When are you due?"

Kate smiled, ran her hand over her barely there bump and sighed, "little peanut is due December 23rd."

Lanie pulled Kate into a hug and Kate couldn't help it, she felt her eyes brim with tears. _Damn these hormones, I'm going to ruin my makeup._

"This is really amazing, honey," Lanie said into Kate's ear.

"Lanie, could you give Alexis and I a minute?" Kate said as she let go of her best friend. "We'll be right down."

"Sure thing," she said as she walked out of the room.

"I saw that look earlier," Kate said as the doors closed, "I'm sorry if I freaked you out …"

"No, no you didn't," Alexis lied, then amended, "well, maybe a little."

"I know I'm not your mom …," Kate began.

"Kate?" Alexis interrupted, "you are the closest thing I've ever had to a mother, I mean I've always had grams, but that's different. You have been by my side for the last five years, even when you didn't have to, even before you and dad were together. I'd be lucky to have you as a mother, and my little brother or sister in there," she said, pointing at Kates bump, "are so lucky to have you as their mother."

Kate had no words, so she just walked over and hugged Alexis with all the love she had in her body, tears streaming down her face.

"I love you," Kate whispered, "thank you."

Alexis pulled out of the hug and looked at Kate, they would both need to fix their makeups.

"I love you too, Kate," Alexis smiled.

When they had calmed down and fixed their makeups, they went downstairs just as guests were starting to arrive.

An hour after the party started Rick pulled Kate up on stage, it was time for the announcement. At this moment Kate wished she could drink, she found that she was not a fan of standing in front of 200 people to tell them she was having a baby. She felt it was a little too personal to share with so many people, but it's not as if she could hide it forever. She knew she would start to show soon, so it was time. Plus Rick was so excited!

"Hello everyone, and thank you for coming out to celebrate with us tonight." Rick began.  
"Most of you know the story of how I met this extraordinary woman next to me," he said and tightened his grip on her waist for a second. "What most of you don't know is that according to my fiancé, she couldn't stand me when we first met, we all know this is a lie, because here we are." He laughed, "I don't believe you can go from strong dislike, to married in 5 years, I think that deep down she wanted me all along."

"You're right, Rick," she joked, "I wanted you-, to stop being an ass." There was laughter in the crowd.

"Well, sweetheart," Ricks smile was mischievous, "the joke is on you tonight." He kissed her lightly.

"You see," he said to the crowd again, "my wife to be and I had planned to surprise everyone with a pregnancy announcement," there was a gasp from the crowd, "but after my birthday, where she totally fooled me, I told her I would create an epic surprise for her."

 _What did you do, what did you do, what did you do? This is so bad, I don't like surprises, he knows this. Crap._

"So this engagement party slash pregnancy announcement, is actually our wedding." He looked at Kate and smiled.

 _Oh, my God. I don't have a dress, I can't get married in this, what about vows, or music or … who knew this was happening?_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

* * *

Kate's mind was reeling at this surprise. _Damn it, Castle! What were you thinking?_

"What's …," she began, but quickly stopped when Alexis grabbed her hand and dragged her away.

"Come on, Kate, we need to get you ready," Alexis said as she took Kates hand and pulled her into her bedroom again, with Lanie close behind.

"You knew about this," she looked at both of them, accusation in her tone, "both of you?"

"Kate, honey, we thought it would be sweet," Lanie said.

"I haven't gotten anything ready," Kate began, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't have a dress, I don't have my mom, I'm not ready for this." _What kind of a grownup am I? Crying for my mother? Well I'm going to blame Rick for this! He made me face this wedding right now – pregnant!_

"Kate?" Alexis sounded worried and a little apprehensive, "we, uhm, talked to your dad and we have your dress." She pulled out a garment bag and opened it, pulling out her mother's dress.

"Oh," was all she could muster.

"When we went dress shopping the other day, I checked your size and estimated your measurements," Alexis stated, "I had your mother's dress altered to fit you."

"Wow, he really thought this through, didn't he?" Kate said, finding her inner fierceness. "Lanie, did you get the bridesmaids dress we had picked out?"

"Yes, I went there the next day and I have it in Alexis' room." Lanie spoke calmly, adding, "I'll just go get ready, will you be OK?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Alexis answered.

Kate took off her engagement dress and put on her wedding dress. _This is crazy, how is this happening today?_

She looked at herself in the mirror and was in awe, the dress fit perfectly. "Thank you, sweetie, for getting my dress ready."

"Your welcome," Alexis smiled. "So, do you want your hair up or down?" Alexis asked, looking at the tiara.

"I think up is better," they both turned around and saw Martha in the doorway.

"Martha? Thank you, I am just so grateful for all you and Alexis have done to make this happen." Kate knew that Martha had put a great deal of work into this wedding and was honestly grateful for it.

"Alexis, would you give us a minute?" Martha said calmly.

"Uhm, sure grams, I'll just go change."

"Katherine, I would like to thank you for making my son so very happy. I also brought you this, in case you didn't have something blue," Martha looked at her lovingly.

Kate opened the jewelry box and looked at stunning earrings with a blue gem, surrounded by little diamonds.

"These were given to me by my mother to wear on my wedding day, and her mother before that. They have only been worn by women of substance, they have been waiting for you," Martha said frankly.

"Thank you, Martha," Kate breathed, "I am _so_ honored." She hugged her soon to be mother-in-law.

Jim walked in, wearing a tux with a tie and pocket square in the same color as Lanie's dress.

"Hi, dad," Kates eyes started to fill again. "You look great."

"You look beautiful, Katie," Jim smiled, but it faltered a little, before he was all smiles again. "She would be so proud," he stated simply.

"Thanks, dad." Kate wiped away a tear or two before fixing her makeup again.

Alexis was back, she was wearing a tux, with her tie loose around her neck. She instantly started getting Kates hair ready, fitting the tiara nicely on a loose bun, and a few loose waves coming down from it.

"You are ready," Alexis announced.

 _I can't believe that it's only taken us half an hour to get ready, we deserve an award or something._

Kate looked at herself in the full-length mirror, "you look just like her, you know", Jim Beckett really knew how to tug at her heartstrings.

"You think?" Kate said, wishing her mother was there to celebrate with her, to see her get married.

"No," he said, "I know, I remember when she wore that dress," he gave a sad smile, "I remember it like it was yesterday." He squeezed her hand, "I always thought she was the most beautiful bride I'd ever seen, until now."

Kate carefully dried her tear before it fell.

"You ready Katie?" Jim asked, offering her his arm.

"Yes, let's get me married." Kate smiled and headed for the door.

She stopped by the double doors so that Alexis and Martha could take their places, to Kates surprise, Martha was officiating the ceremony. _So that was the information she was looking for online._ Everything was starting to make sense, all the hushed conversations behind closed doors, it was all about this. _Well at least we are not in space, or at a theme park._

Lanie looked her over again, making sure everything was perfect. "This is it, Kate. You are getting married." Lanie shook her head, bemused. "I still can't believe he managed to surprise you," Lanie laughed.

"I knew that something was up, I just never imagined it to be so over the top," Kate laughed too, "guess I should have expected it."

"Well it _is_ Richard Castle," Lanie said, still laughing.

Suddenly there was music and Kates head shot up, Lanie straightened her back and walked down the aisle. The music changed into the wedding march and everyone stood up to watch Kate.

As soon as she started down the aisle, she gripped her father's arm tighter. She caught Ricks eyes and they were gleaming with joy, he had the biggest smile on his face. She knew her smile matched his, she wanted to be mad at him for springing a surprise wedding at her, but all she could feel was pure joy. Each step was bringing her closer to becoming Mrs. Richard Castle.

 _If someone had told me 10 years ago that Richard Castle, famed author of the Derek Storm novels, would be my one and done. Well, I would probably have put them in the psych ward of the nearest hospital. But here I am, meeting him at the altar._

She had made it to the altar without tripping or doing anything awkward or embarrassing, though Kate was known for her fierceness and self-assuredness, she still sighed a breath of relieve to have made it.

Martha smiled at her as Jim went to his seat.

"Dearly beloved, and all that jazz," Martha began, "This is a wonderful time for my family, my son is getting married, again."

"Mother," Rick warned teasingly, as he smiled at Kate.

"Ah, yes, well, third times the charm, as they say," Martha said, with the wave of her hands. "What I feel makes this marriage different from his previous ones, is that Rick and Kate are partners, they are equals and push each other to do better, to be better."

"Katherine, it's time for your vows." Martha said and looked at her.

"The moment I met you, my life became extraordinary. Having you as a partner in crime, saved my life in more ways than one." Kate wiped a stray tear from her eye, "you helped me see that there was more to life than the job. Having you as a partner in life, you have taught so much about myself, and about family." She glanced at Alexis, "I am so proud to become your wife, and the mother of your children. I love you, Richard Castle, always."

She blew out her breath, trying to regain her composure.

"Richard," Martha said, with tears in her eyes.

"The moment I met you, my life became extraordinary. Ever since I met you I have been inspired, not just in my writing, but in my life." Rick took a deep breath, "you have made happier than I thought possible, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life trying to unravel the mystery that is you." He held her gaze, "I love you, Katherine Beckett, always."

Martha was wiping her tears on a handkerchief.

"The show must go on," Martha exclaimed as she looked at Alexis, "do you have the rings?"

Alexis nodded and handed them to her father, who in turn handed one to Kate.

"These rings represent the unity of your marriage, the infinity of the love you two share." Martha said, making small circles with her finger, "it will tell everyone you meet that you have found your truest of loves."

Kate looked at Rick, tears in both of their eyes, and smiled at him as she whispered, "love you."

"Richard, do you take Katherine to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold through all of lives ups and downs?" Martha looked at her son and smiled, handkerchief still clutched between her fingers.

"I do," he stated simply and Kate put the wedding band on his finger, then kissed it.

"Katherine dear, do you take Richard to be lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold through …"

"I do," Kate interrupted her, to soft laughter from the crowd. Rick put the gold band on her finger, then interlaced his with hers.

"Can I kiss her now?" He asked, not taking his eyes of Kate.

"Yes, yes, kiss," Martha said with the wave of her hands, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

* * *

 **I would just like to thank you for the nice reviews, they make my heart swell.**

 **Next chapter will be up soon.**

 **I would also like to say that, I along with all of the Castle fandom was shocked when the news of a Stana-less season 9. That I am grateful for the time she had with the show and would like to thank Andrew Marlowe for giving us Caskett.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Out of habit I will start with a disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its characters.**

* * *

Rick wrapped his arms around her, smiled at her mischievously, and then dipped her before sealing their wedding with a kiss. She gasped and then giggled as he brought her up again, still laughing as she regained her balance.

"Thank you," he said as he took her hand.

"What for?" She asked curiously.

"You have just made me the happiest man alive, so," Rick said as he led her into their reception. "I just wanted to thank you for making me this incredibly happy and for being the extraordinary person I fell in love with." He kissed her cheek, " Oh, and also for not killing me."

She mock glared at him at that, "Yeah, you should be grateful," she laughed. "It was a close call."

He feigned shock, "you would seriously harm me, just because I didn't want to wait to be your husband."

"Yeah, you're just lucky I really want to be your wife," she smirked, "and I don't want to raise this baby without you."

"Let me be the first to introduce, Mr. and Mrs. Castle," Ryan announced as they walked in to the reception, to the guests applauding. "And Castles, if you could make your way to the dance floor for your first dance."

The music started softly, _I love this song._

 _Nothin' goes as planned,  
everything will break_

They danced slowly to the ballad, Kate looked into his eyes and could feel the love radiating over her.

"Perfect song choice," she said as she leaned in for a kiss.

"You are perfect." He stated simply as they parted.

 _Oh, you're in my veins,  
and I cannot get you out._

When they sat down, they had champagne flutes put in front of them, Kate looked at the waiter and was about to ask him to take it away when Rick stopped her by saying, "it's apple cider, I just wanted to have the right glasses."

"Thank you," she put her hand in his on the table and squeezed.

"If I could get your attention please," Kevin Ryan was really enjoying the role of MC, "it is now time for the speeches, starting with the maid of honor."

Lanie walked on to the porch that served as a stage, looked at Kate and smiled, then at Rick and spoke.

"I have known Kate Beckett for many, many years and she is my best friend. I have seen her go through so much in these years," she had tears in her eyes, then chuckled to herself.  
"As difficult and as draining as our jobs are, the most challenging thing she has ever faced is one Mr. Richard Castle." Lanie looked at Rick as laughter erupted from the guests.  
"Rick forced her to take a long hard look at who she was, and made her see that there was more to her then just a kick ass detective. He showed us all what it means to love someone, even against all odds. He has selflessly taken care of you since you two met, and I can never thank him enough for helping you heal, when no one else could." Lanie had tears rolling down her cheeks, so did a lot of people, including the bride. Rick just raised his glass towards Lanie as a silent thank you.  
"Just know that if you hurt her, you will live to regret it." Lanie said in a fiercely protective tone. "Cheers."

Kate stood up and walked over to hug her best friend, at the same time Kevin was getting ready to introduce the next speaker.

"Well, she's not wrong about that," he said into the mic, before adding, "all right, next one up is the best man, Alexis."

"My dad and I have always been in an us two against the world team, he raised me by himself and I am so happy to have had the life I've had," she began. "I have still always hoped that he would find someone that could make him happy. Someone that was willing to see his many strange attributes as funny rather than frustrating." She looked at her father, who smiled at her. "I feel as if I got my wish granted when he met detective Beckett." She smiled at Kate before she continued. "Granted she didn't see the humor in is quirks in the beginning, but he grew on her."  
"I have looked up to detective Kate Beckett since she and my dad started working together, she is so strong and brave and, well, she's more loyal than anyone I have ever met." Alexis was looking at Kate, with nothing but love and admiration.  
"What people might not know about Kate Beckett is that when she cares about you, she will sacrifice anything and everything to keep you safe, to make sure you feel safe." Kate wiped a tear from her cheek.  
"When you just started dating, I was a little apprehensive, because you had been doing a lot of hurting back and forth, with a whole will they won't they thing, driving everyone mad. I saw my dad get his hopes up and get hurt so many times." Rick squeezed Kate's hand and kissed her temple.  
"I'm just so glad that you managed to find yourselves on the same page at the same time, because I think you are what my dad needs. I know that our relationship has never been stronger and is only growing. The love you have for my little brother or sister is the kind of love I wished I had from my mother, unconditional."

Kate stood up and walked over to Alexis on the porch and wrapped her in a tight hug, "Alexis, I love you, you know that right?" Kate loosened her hold on Alexis to be able to look at her. "Look at this," Kate said as she lifted her wrist and shook her charm bracelet. "Do you recognize these stones?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, that's an opal and that's a blue topaz," Alexis replied equally quiet.

"Do you know what they represent?" Kate looked at her, not waiting for an answer. "They represent the two Castle kids we already have, those are your birthstones. The blue topaz for this coming December, and the opal for October, for you" Kate let that sink in for Alexis.

Alexis wiped away a few tears that she had shed, then hugged Kate again before Kate went back to her seat.  
They had spoken quietly enough so the guests weren't able to hear them.

"Lastly," Alexis said, her eyes still gleaming with unshed tears, "dad, congratulations and Kate, I'm glad we are now officially family."

The bride and groom raised their glasses and beamed at their daughter.

"Wow, that was beautiful Alexis," Ryan was a little emotional, "I think we need to take a little break from speeches, time for some cocktails."

There was indistinct music playing, while people chatted. Dinner was being served when she really realized the magnitude of the efforts put into this wedding.

 _I can't believe how much planning he got done in only a couple of weeks, or has he been planning this for longer?_

"Well, I think we are ready for the parents speeches, do we want Mr. Beckett or Ms. Rogers up first?" Ryan asked looking between of two of them.

Jim stood up and walked to the mic, took a deep breath and began, "Katie is the best thing I've ever done. I had a great partner in her mother, so I won't take all the credit for how she has turned out." He was looking at his hands, "truth is Ricky has done so much for her, in the past five year they have had their fair share of trouble. But in these five years, I've only had to worry about her job, not her heart. Rick, I just want to thank you for loving my daughter so absolutely, and for being the reason for her joy." Jim glanced in his daughter's direction, saw that she was wiping a tear from her face, he looked back down and walked over to her and gave her a hug.

 _God this is going to leave me dehydrated or something, I need to get these tears under control._ Kate looked at Rick, who was smiling and looking at her calmness washed over her. _How lucky can one girl be?_

"All right, Martha, are you ready?" Kevin asked, and she nodded.

"Well, kiddos," Martha was still drying tears from her eyes after listening to the previous speeches.  
"I will keep in very short. Katherine, all I want to say to you is, I thank you for keeping my son safe every day and for making him happy every day and thank you for caring so deeply for my granddaughter. Richard to you I would like to say, congratulations. You deserve to be happy. To the both of you I want to say only one thing." She emphasized with holding up one finger, "Thank you for giving me another grandbaby." There was scattered laugher from the crowd.  
"I love you both."

* * *

 **I just wanted to let you know that in the coming weeks I will be submitting rather sporadically, I hope you don't mind.**

 **Thank you for reading, reviewing, following and favorite-ing it really is wonderful to wake up and see my inbox full of positivity.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I shall now disclaim away: I do not have any ownership or profit from Caste.**

 **I would like to thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter. I have been busy with little lambs coming into the world. I work at a farm right now. It's very busy and I wish I had more time to write, but this will have to do for now.**

 **I will do my best to update at least weekly.**

* * *

"It's now time for the father daughter dance," Ryan announced, causing Jim to stand up and walk over to his daughter.

Kate gave Rick's hand a light squeeze before standing up to join her father.

"I hope you don't mind," Jim sounded a little nervous, "but I asked Rick if I could choose the song." As he spoke the song began, Louis Armstrong's voice raspy and perfect.

 _I see trees of green, red roses too._

"I love it," Kate said as she smiled, looking over her fathers shoulder at her new husband and daughter, as they too danced. Kate hugged her father as they danced, "I wish she could see this, all he put into this, he made the perfect day for us."

Soon it was time for the Castles to make their exit, though Kate had no idea where Rick wanted to take her for their honeymoon.

"Ok, I know this is spur of the moment and that you might not want to," Rick began, "but I was hoping that maybe you would like it, and that you wouldn't want to shoot me afterwards. They say this is a really good time to go and …"

"Spit it out, Castle," Kate teased.

"I have tickets to Budapest, we leave tomorrow morning." Rick said, somewhat unsure still.

"Wait, what?" Kate was secretly happy they were in the back of a limo, so she could look at him.

"Yeah, they have some nice things to see and the thermal pools and I wanted a little mini-moon, before the little one arrives," Rick explained.

"Wow, babe," Kate was still in shock, "that sounds sooo good, but – did you clear it with Gates?"

"I talked to her earlier today, and she said that if I get you back by Wednesday she's fine with it." He said, sounding a little more hopeful.

"Then we better go pack," Kate was getting excited. _I really can't believe how much planning he did._

Their entire trip was wonderful, filled with sight seeing, visits to thermal pools and a lot of staying in at the hotel. They came back rejuvenated.

oOoOoOo

"Detective, Castle, nice of you to join us," Gates said as they walked into the bullpen. "I hope you had a nice honeymoon."

"Well, it was more of a long weekend or a mini-moon," Rick mused, but stopped abruptly at the look he got from the captain.

"Yes, sir, it was amazing," Kate said, beaming. "My husband planned an amazing vacation."

At her use of the word husband, Rick looked at her and smiled wide.

"Good, well I expect the both of you to stay professional at work, we have a new case," Gates said, turning around to head into her office, looked over her shoulder and added, " the info is in the folder on your desk."

"Sir?" Kate said, uncertain. "Does this mean that I'm back on active duty?"

Gates looked at her over her glasses, "no, detective, it means you are allowed to go to crime scenes and interrogation. Any takedown or leads on suspects will be handled by detectives Ryan and Esposito."

"Yes, sir," Kate smiled, "thank you, sir."

"Yes, thank you," Rick added, sighing a breath of relief.

Rick and Kate went to the crime scene a few minutes later. When they got there, the boys had already asked unis to canvass the neighborhood, and they were following the CSU techs around. Lanie looked a bit unnerved as she saw Kate walking towards her.

"Hey, sweetie," Lanie said softly. "Welcome back."

"Hey, Lanie, thanks," Kate smiled, then put on her detective face. "What have you got for us?"

As Lanie turned around they could see what she was holding.

"A _baby_?" Rick couldn't contain himself, "may I hold him, her, the, uhm, baby?" He asked animatedly as he walked closer to Lanie to peek at the infant.

"It's a him and yes, you may," Lanie said and smiled at Ricks enthusiasm.

When Rick took him, the child immediately relaxed into his chest, then started to try and find food.

"This little guy is hungry," Rick said as he looked at his wife, Kate looked a little nervous as she took in the scene before her and automatically put her hand on her growing baby bump.

"I think we need to go get him some supplies, and food." Rick said as he told LT to follow, "I'm taking a uni with me, so he'll still in police custody." He said over his shoulder.

"Come on, we'll get ice cream," LT just followed looking equal parts annoyed and amused.

"Uhm, Castle," Kate called as she rushed over to him, "are you sure you're qualified to take him?"

"Sure," he grinned, "I have and RHD in childcare."

"RHD?" Kate sighed.

"Yes, Ruggedly Handsome Dad," he said as he turned around and walked to LTs cruiser.

"Right," she said as she rolled her eyes at her husband.

 _He really is ruggedly handsome, but I won't be telling him that any time soon. I doubt his ego can handle growing by that much._ Kate laughed to herself.

When Kate got back to the precinct, she hadn't heard from Rick in a few hours and was starting to worry a little. The baby should be under police protection and Rick, well, Rick wasn't that.

She picked up her phone to call him, when she heard the elevator ding and open, revealing Rick with a diaper bag over his shoulder and a baby dressed up as Uncle Sam in his arms. LT followed with a stroller and a few bags

"Castle, where have you been? And what is all this stuff?" Kate asked as Rick walked towards her.

"Well, we went shopping, and had to buy some new clothes, because someone made a mess earlier," Rick said gleefully.

"Why is he dressed like Uncle Sam?" Kate asked.

"Well tomorrow is the fourth, and it's adorable. It was expensive, but totally worth it. Don't you think Cosmo looks adorable?" Rick asked as the baby started to squirm.

"What's a Cosmo?" Kate began, "did you name the baby Cosmo?"

"Yeah," Rick sighed, "it's what I what I would have named Alexis if she had been a boy."

"Well, I'm glad you're getting it out of your system, because our baby will not be called Cosmo." Kate stated in a way that left no room for discussion.

When it was time to go home, the social worker told them there was nowhere to place the boy, except for a group home that was already overcrowded. Rick offered to take him back to their place for the night, and although Kate was apprehensive about it, she agreed.

 _What did I just get myself into? I'm not really ready for this, but – it might be good practice._

After a hectic night that was filled with things not at all resembling sleep, the Castles woke up to Martha cooing over Cosmo and feeding him from a bottle.

 _We must have dozed off at some point, thank God for Martha._

Just then, Alexis walked in after spending the night with the barista.

"How long have I been gone?" She said shocked at the scene before her.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Rick said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "This is Cosmo, he's a witness to a murder that happened yesterday, we are taking care of him, so he can stay in police custody." Rick finished as he stood up, walked to the kitchen and stared to make coffee.

"His name isn't really Cosmo is it?" Alexis asked with a weird look on her face.

"No, that's just your dads nickname for him while we don't know what his real name is." Kate said as she sat up, and accepted the coffee from Rick, took a sip, frowned and put the cup down.

"What? Is the coffee not good?" Rick asked, eyeing his wife curiously.

"No, it's not that," Kate began, "it's just," Kate hesitated. "It's just, I don't think I should be drinking coffee at all."

"Oh, right," Rick said, "it's bad for the baby, all that caffeine. Well it's a good thing then that I gave you decaf." Rick said with a weirdly proud look on his face.

Kate gave him a loving smile said, "thanks, babe."

"Well, I need to get back to work," Kate said as she stretched and stifled a yawn.

"We'll come with you," Rick said as he stood up and walked over to Martha, who was still cooing over the baby.

"Well now, Richard, the precinct is no place for an infant," Martha said in an airy tone.

"Yeah, we could take him, right gram," Alexis said quickly. "It'd be good practice before that one is born," she continued, pointing at Kate's abdomen.

Rick looked at Kate for an answer, with a glint in his eye.

"All right, as long as you call if there is anything you need," Kate said.

"Of course," Alexis said looking at Kate, then looked at Cosmo and cooed, "do you want to go to the park? It's the fourth of July and there will be balloons and music and pretty lights."

Kate couldn't help the proud smile on her face.

"You're going to be an amazing big sister," Kate said still smiling, as she walked over to Alexis and wrapped her in a tight hug.

When Kate and Rick walked into the bullpen, Ryan greeted them.

"Hey Castles," he said smiling, "we have a lead."

"All right, you and Espo go and check it out," Kate began, "and Ryan, keep me updated."

"Will do," Ryan said as he got his gun from his locked desk drawer and headed out, with Espo following close behind.

"It's weird to just sit and wait for news," Kate said grumpily.

"Now you know how I feel when you leave me behind." Rick said, then added in a more cheerful tone, "maybe from now on you'll let me join you?"

"No, babe," Kate said in a somewhat serious tone, "I kinda love you too much to let you get yourself killed." She put her hand in his on her desk and sighed in content at the contact.

Kate's phone rang, "Beckett." She listened intently at whoever was calling, "got it, yeah I'll call her right now."

Kate hung up, then dialed the number and waited for Alexis to pick up.

"Hey, Kate," Alexis answered.

"Hey, bud, I need you to bring Cosmo to the precinct, we found his mother."

Kate could hear Alexis tell her grandmother that they needed to turn around and go the other way, that Kate needed Cosmo back.

"We're on our way," Alexis said before she hung up.

The boys entered the precinct, followed closely by a semi frantic woman, looking for her son.

"Is he here? Do you have my son?"

"He will be here shortly, but first we need to ask you a few questions." Kate did her best to remain calm, but her hormones were making it hard for her. By sheer force of will she managed to appear calm, only Rick seemed to realize that she was not her same fierce self.

As Kate finished her interview with the woman, Alexis and Martha walked in with Cosmo. His mother ran over to him, just to be able to hold him again. She had tears streaming down her face and with that Kate's resolve crumbled. So she walked with her head high, and back to everyone so as to appear to be in control, towards the break room. She didn't notice that Rick had followed her until his arms were around her, he must have known she would need a hug and a shoulder to dampen with a few tears.

"I just think about what this woman must have been going through," Kate said as she wiped away the tears that had already fallen. "It just brings me back to Alexis and Paris, I was so worried about the both of you."

"I know," Rick was trying to calm her down. "But just like with Alexis, we had a happy ending. The killer was caught, Cosmo is with his mother, and Alexis is safe with us at home. Everything is great"

"You're right," Kate said, slowly getting her emotions in check. "Thank you."

"For what?" Rick sounded confused.

"For being there, here for me, calming me down and supporting me." Kate leaned in and put her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Always," Rick stated simply.

* * *

 **A/N: I know that The Good, The Bad and The Baby is a thanksgiving episode, but I wanted the case to be their first after they got back to work. I hope you don't mind.**

 **Also I didn't really want to write the entire crime aspect of the episode, so I just made assumptions that everyone choosing to read Castle fanfic has seen the show. Hopefully I'm not wrong.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Castle related.**

* * *

The summer had been great for most everyone in the Castle household, Alexis was about to start her fall semester, Martha had a new off Broadway play she was working on and Rick had just finished his newest Nikki Heat novel. Kate on the other hand was just about 5 months along and was starting to feel every bit of her pregnancy. The plus side, they would soon be finding out the sex of the baby.

"Ugh," Kate grunts as she reaches out to turn of her alarm. This whole trying to sleep while pregnant thing was getting old fast. Whoever said pregnancy was magical, was either high or a man, there was nothing magical about not being able to sleep properly and having to use the restroom all the time.

Kate was showing a fair bit by now and loved to be able to see that little peanut was growing, she kind of wished it would go faster and slower at the same time. Because no matter how much she complained about being pregnant, she was still ecstatic about the idea of having this baby.

She had just showered and feeling very refreshed, when she walked towards her family.

"All right people, this is your last chance to place a bet," she heard Rick exclaim as she drew nearer. She couldn't help the smile on her face when she heard the excitement in Rick's voice.

"We have your odds here, it is a risky bet on a boy, seeing as I have only sired a girl," Rick said with a laugh.

"That's a really weird way of saying that you have a daughter," Kate said with a laugh.

"Honestly, Richard, the things you say," Martha said.

"Yeah, dad, that was a bit on the creepy side," Alexis said as she glanced over at Kate. "What do you think it is? Isn't it supposed to be some sort of mothers intuition?"

"Ah-ah-ah," Rick said as he held up a finger, "that's cheating, Kate you are officially not allowed to bet if you have a cheat sheet."

"Well, I have my theories," Kate mused, "but I will not be sharing them, I wouldn't want anyone to be disqualified."

"Hey, I have an idea, why don't you write it down on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope, then we can see if you were right after the appointment." Alexis said with a smug look on her face, almost as if she wanted to challenge Kate's feeling.

"Sure, bud," Kate said with a smile, "but I will be holding on to said envelope, because we all know that your father would not be able to resist reading it."

"Hey?" Rick exclaimed. Kate, Alexis and Martha just laughed.

There was a knock on the door and Jim walked in, greeting everyone as he entered.

"So? Has everyone decided what they are betting on?" Rick said, looking very serious with a notebook in hand.

"Babe, I'm pretty sure everyone is just hoping for a healthy baby," Kate said with a smile. _Little Peanut, you better be healthy in there._

"Well of course, but it's way more fun to play the boy vs. girl game. Isn't that right you healthy little baby you?" Rick cooed to Kate's bump.

Kate couldn't help laughing at her husbands' antics.

"What are the bets so far?" Kate asked, she was pretty sure about what the boys and Lanie would say. Lanie and Ryan were on team girl and Espo was sure it was a boy.

"Well we have Espo, mother and Gates betting on a boy, and Lanie, Ryan and myself betting on a girl. Alexis and Jim have yet to make a bet and you are not allowed to." Rick said as he looked over his notebook.

"So, Jim, Alexis, what will it be?" Rick asked with his pen ready.

They both shot Kate a look, hoping for some sort of hint or something. Kate just smiled and waited for their answer.

"Well, I'm hoping for a little brother," Alexis began, quickly adding, "or a little sister."

"Well, then you're in luck," Rick laughed, "you will be getting either a brother or a sister."

Alexis rolled her eyes at the comment.

"I'll just go with – a boy." Alexis said and looked at Kate, who just smiled.

"Well, I guess I'll go with girl to keep it even," Jim said with a soft smile.

"All right, babe, time to stop betting and start eating breakfast." Kate said as she sat down at the table.

"Yes, dear," Rick joked.

oOoOoOo

"Beckett, Katherine?" Kate looked up as the receptionist called her up.

"Yes?" Kate answered.

"The doctor will see you now." Kate just nodded as she and Rick stood up and followed her down into an examination room.

"Hello, how are you feeling today?" The doctor asked as Kate sat down.

"Fine, just a little tired, that's all," Kate said with a slight smile.

"Well, that's normal," the doctor said, before asking. "Have you been taking your prenatal vitamins?"

"Yes," Kate smiled, "my husband makes sure I don't forget." She squeezed his hand as she chuckled.

"Well, what can I do," Rick laughed, "her pregnancy brain sometimes makes her forget to take them and sometimes it makes her forget she already took them, so I decided make it my responsibility."

The doctor laughed at Rick's explanation. "As long as you take them and you get enough rest, you should be good, the both of you," he said gesturing towards Kate and her abdomen.

"Are we ready to have a look?" the doctor asked.

"Yes, but I was wondering if the rest of our family could join us for the reveal." Kate asked a little apprehensive.

"Sure thing," the doctor smiled, "you can call them in now."

Rick went outside and called for Alexis, Martha and Jim to join them.

"All right, now that everyone is here," the doctor looked around, Kate nodded her agreement, "let's begin. Could you lift up your shirt."

Kate lifted her shirt up off her bump and pushed the stretchy fabric of her maternity pants down. She was feeling a little self-conscious about being so exposed in front of her family, that is until she heard it, the heartbeat. She looked at the screen in front of her and was instantly smiling from ear to ear.

Ricks hand found hers and just held it, Kate looked over at her husband and saw that Alexis was hugging Rick and wiping away a tear.

"Alexis, are you all right?" Kate asked quietly.

"Yeah, I am," Alexis looked at Kate, eyes still filled with tears. "It's just so real now, I mean I've seen ultrasound photos and felt kicks, but I mean." She took a breath to compose herself. "Just listen to that heartbeat."

Kate had to hold herself back from standing up and hugging Alexis at those words. Kate looked at the rest of her family and they too were in tears.

"These better be tears of joy," she laughed through a sob.

Jim just walked over and kissed Kate's forehead, while Martha exclaimed, "yes, yes, yes it's wonderful, just marvelous."

"As you can hear, the heart is beating strong. If you look over here you can see the head, there's the little nose and over here we have five fingers and five on the other side." The doctor pointed out everything he was mentioning, "so in total we have ten fingers and, let me see, yes, ten toes. So are we ready to find out the sex of the baby?" He looked around at a lot of nodding heads, as he moved the wand over to where he could see properly.

"I was wondering if you could look at this and let me know if I was right." Kate said as she handed the doctor the envelope. The doctor just took it and opened it, took the wand up again and looked closely.

"It would seem that mama was right." He said with a smile.

"Really?" Kate's eyes were filled with tears again, "is it really?"

"Yes, it appears to be," the doctor laughed.

"Well, what is it?" Rick said exasperated.

"Mr. Castle, congratulations, it's a boy," the doctor said still smiling at Rick's impatience.

All Kate could hear were the gasps from her family.

"Babe, we're having a boy," Kate said as she leaned over and kissed him, then looked over to Alexis. "What do you think? A little brother."

"I mean wow," was all Alexis said before she walked over to Kate and gave her a hug.

Kate wiped the gel of her belly and fixed her clothes before getting up and hugging her father and mother-in-law.

"This is really great, Katie," Jim whispered into her ear as they hugged.

"Well, I'll let you know that Richard was a wonderful baby, no matter how he turned out." Martha said with a sly smile and a playful slap on Ricks face.

Kate couldn't help but laugh.

oOoOoOo

It felt like a long day before Rick and Kate went to bed, but they were so excited about the prospect of a son that they didn't care.

"We have to think of a name for him," Kate said as she tried to get comfortable.

"What about …" Rick began.

"We are not naming him Cosmo, babe," Kate said sternly.

"But …" Rick tried.

"Not happening," Kate said smiling. "I was thinking more traditional, like John or Peter or …"

"How about we don't name him after an apostle?" Rick said laughing.

"Oh, I know, what about Nicholas?" Kate mused.

"So that we can be the awkward father-son duo Rick and Nick?" Rick said, looking a little perplexed.

"No, your right, that wouldn't work," Kate said.

"I like Alexander as a middle name, we could use that." Kate smiled at Rick.

"Really? You want to name him after me?" Rick sounded incredulous.

"Well, yes, the name has stuck with me ever since I found out from that weird fortune teller, that someone named Alexander would safe my life. I find it fitting." She smiled.

"What about a first name?" Rick asked.

"How about we try some out in the next couple of weeks and see which one we like the best?" Kate sounded quite sure of herself, that this was the perfect solution.

* * *

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **If you have suggestions about a first name, send them my way via review or pm.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and earn nothing from Castle.**

* * *

"Do you think we should have a gender reveal party or just tell people when they ask? What if we keep it a secret until he's born?" Kate was rambling and she knew it.

"We can do this however you want," Castle began cautiously, "but most of our friends know that we know and will not be happy just having to wait. Besides, we had that bet going."

"You mean _you_ had that bet going." Kate teased, "and you were wrong by the way." Kate playfully bumped her shoulder to his as she walked past him into the kitchen.

"Well, it was a fair assumption to make," Rick said with a laugh.

"Fair, yes. Correct, no." Kate chuckled as she grabbed a bottle of water and walked over to him and gave him a soft kiss.

"Kate?" Alexis called down the stairs.

"Yeah, bud, what's up?" Kate answered as she walked towards the stairs.

"I wasn't eaves dropping or anything, but," Alexis blushed a little as she continued, "I heard you were talking about how to tell people that it's a boy." She finished as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes," Kate said, in a tone that suggested Alexis continue.

"And I was wondering if I could plan it?" Alexis asked, sounding like she already had a plan.

"Oh? Yes, that would be great," Kate said with a smile, "right, babe?"

"Yeah, we would love that," Rick confirmed.

 _I can't believe that I'm now a part of a we._ We _would love that._ We _will be there._ We'll _bring dip. Such a small word, we, but has such a big meaning._

"Great, I'll let you know when I have a time and a place." Alexis said as she hugged the both of them.

"Sounds good, pumpkin," Rick said.

oOoOoOo

"Sooo," Lanie said rather than greeting Kate.

"Sooo, what?" Kate said with a smirk.

"Don't make me smack a pregnant lady," Lanie said in mock annoyance.

"I want to tell you, really, I do," Kate said earnestly, "but we told Alexis that she could plan the reveal, and I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"Fine," Lanie said with sass.

"Lanie, she is so excited to plan this, she asked if she could and who are we to deny her that?" Kate said as she patted her best friend on the shoulder.

"No, it's fine, really," Lanie said as she pulled her friend into a warm hug.

"It's just, I love the fact that she is so excited about being a big sister. That she wants to plan things for this peanut." Kate quickly wiped a tear from her eye with one hand as the other rested on her bump. "Sorry about this," she said gesturing her emotions, "I blame the hormones."

Lanie just laughed and hugged her friend again.

oOoOoOo

"So what's the guest list going to be?" Alexis asked as they were all having dinner together a few days later.

"I was thinking it would be just our friends, Javi and Lanie, Kev and Jenny, maybe Gates and then the family even though they know," Kate said as she looked at Rick. "Do you want to add anyone to that list?"

"No, I think that about covers it," Rick said simply.

"Is there someone you'd like to invite?" Kate asked, "Maybe a certain barista that we have yet to meet?" Kate laughed at the blush rising in Alexis cheeks.

"I think that meeting the entire family at once is not the best idea. I think a quiet dinner with just the four of us would be better, and not for a few more weeks. We've only been dating a couple of months. I mean just meeting the two of you is hard enough for …" Alexis was rambling and Kate felt a little sorry for starting it.

"Honey it's fine, later is fine," Kate cut her off, as she grabbed the girls hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Thanks," Alexis sighed.

"So," Rick said loudly, as if to pointedly change the subject, "a small gathering of family and friends, with a grand total of 10 people invited, us included."

"All right," Alexis seemed her same chipper self. "Oh, and by the way I might have some sort of wardrobe preferences for you. How does next Sunday sound?"

"Sounds great," Rick and Kate said in unison, then looked at each other and smiled. Kate loved that they were always so in sync, that they still did that.

oOoOoOo

"Hey guys," Rick said as she approached her desk. "You're free next Sunday right?"

"Why?" Javi asked, slowly dragging the word out.

"Alexis is planning a gender reveal and I was hoping you would be there."

"Sure, of course we'll be there," Ryan said with his signature friendly smile.

"Ryan, you're bringing Jenny right?" Kate said as he stepped of the elevator, then turned to Rick, as Ryan nodded, and added, "Babe, Lanie is confirmed."

"Great, so we have everyone except Gates." Rick said as he looked around the office. "Where is she by the way?"

"Where is who, Mr. Castle?" Gates asked as she walked out of the breakroom.

"Ah, sir, there you are." Kate looked a little flustered and a little apprehensive. "We were wondering if you would like to come to the gender reveal that Alexis is planning, next Sunday, more detail to come."

"That will be fine," Gates replied curtly, though Kate thought she saw a glint of excitement in her eyes.

"And of course your husband is welcome to join us," Rick added.

"Thank you, I'm sure he will be happy to come along," Gates said with an amused smile.

Kate was making a mental list, _Gates plus one, Ryan and Jenny, Javi and Lanie, Martha, dad, Alexis, Rick and I. That's a total of 11 people,_ _that's way more appropriate than the over two hundred invited to the engagement party/pregnancy announcement turned wedding. That means no giant surprises, thank God!_ Kate was well aware of the fact that she was getting more hormonal with each passing day, it's just that she could not for the life of her control her emotions. For that reason, she had asked Rick to refrain from doing anything that might cause her to be overly surprised in a bad way.

oOoOoOo

Kate was surprised when Alexis didn't pick up when she called, she was too used to the girl having her phone glued to her for her to miss a call. The only time she had known the girl to let it go to voicemail was during dinner, because there was a no phone during dinner rule, that was only allowed to be broken if there were calls from the precinct.

Lost in thought as to what might be going on with Alexis, she was startled when her phone began to ring in her hand. Alexis was calling her back, and it had only been five minutes.

"Kate? Is everything all right?" Alexis sounded a little out of breath.

"Hey, bud. Yeah, everything is fine," Kate said in hopes of calming the girl, she really did sound nervous. "I just wanted you to know that everyone is coming to the party, even Gates and her husband."

"Right, OK, that's great," Alexis still sounded nervous, or was it flustered.

"Honey, are you all right?" Kate asked in her best motherly/captain Beckett combo voice.

"What? Yeah, fine, just, uhm." Kate heard a giggle and hushed voices and felt herself blush a little, realizing what was disturbing Alexis' focus.

"Say 'hi' to the barista for me," Kate said with a laugh.

"Right, love you Kate," Alexis said quickly.

"Love you too," Kate wasn't sure Alexis heard her before hanging up.

oOoOoOo

"All right, I need a few things from you before the party on Sunday," Alexis said.

It was Friday and Kate was getting excited to see what Alexis had planned. She and Rick had not been allowed to know any of the details beforehand and it was starting to bother her how easily her husband and daughter could keep her out of the loop. Of course this particular loop, Rick was also out of.

"Sure thing, sweetie," Kate smiled, "what do you need?"

"First I need you to pick out a plain white dress to wear, nothing fancy, I might ruin it," Alexis said, looking from Kate to Rick she added, "second, I need you to pick out a pair khaki pants and a white shirt, no tie, brown shoes, brown belt." Alexis then looked between the pair. "Last, but not least, I need you to sit down with me individually for maybe an hour each. We will discuss during this sit-down, what it entails."

"All right, when would you like to do it?" Rick asked matching Alexis' professional tone.

"If you have time, I would love to do it now," Alexis looked at Kate," and I would like you to go first."

"Yeah, of course," Kate felt somewhat uncomfortable, not knowing where this was going. "Lead the way."

When the two women walked into Rick study, Kate was surprised to see a video camera on a tripod waiting.

"When did you set this up?" Kate asked.

"While you had breakfast," Alexis said with a sly smile. "So the thing is, I want to make a little video for the reveal, and I needed a few shots of you and dad and all the excitement around this baby."

Kate smiled at the loving tone Alexis adopted whenever she talked about her little brother. "That's a brilliant idea."

"So I have a few notes, a few things I have scripted and a few questions I want you to answer. Sound fair?" Alexis asked, and before Kate could reply she added. "If there is anything you want to add or some parts of the script you want to change or not say or something, then that's fine. I just thought this would be a good way to go.

The hour turned into two, and when Kate emerged she couldn't help the smile on her face or the tears streaming down her face. She just walked over to her husband and hugged him as tight as her bump would allow.

"Dad?" Alexis called from the study, "you ready?"

"Coming," he said and kissed Kate softly before going in.  
"Love you," he whispered as he let Kate go.

* * *

 **A/N: I would just like to say, thanks for being so patient. I know I suck for not updating sooner and that you don't want any excuses, so I won't bore you with the details.**

 **Just know that I am back and will most likely post the wonderful reveal party on Sunday (I have no idea where in the world everyone is, but seeing as I'm in Iceland assume it's going to be during normal waking hours here).**

 **Much love.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: This is written with characters borrowed from the TV show Castle, enjoy.**

 **A/N: In this chapter italics is not inner monologue, it's the video.**

 **Fair warning, this chapter is about twice as long as most of my chapters.**

* * *

With everything planned by Alexis, Kate and Rick only had to show up, in the requested outfits. Alexis had been very thorough in keeping the plans under wraps, so much so that she moved into Kates old apartment for the duration. Claiming that she didn't  
/trust her father to not go snooping for clues.

"She has a point, babe." Kate said laughing, "you don't really inspire confidence in your self-control." She said gesturing to his computer screen that had a webpage for baby clothes with themes. "Were you really thinking of getting Christopher the Firefly  
/captains outfit to match yours?"

"Well, yes, I think Toby would look so cool as Malcolm Reynolds. Hey, what about Malcolm or Reynold?" Rick said before adding, "you know what, no, I don't want to give him an old man's name."

"Well, I think it's fine that Noah, doesn't have a name yet. As long as we can decide before he turns two, it's fine," Kate was still laughing at her husband. "How long before we have to be ready?"

"Alexis said she would pick us up at …" Glancing at his watch, Rick looked a little nervous, "whoops, she'll be here in about ten."

"Ten minutes is fine, we can do that," Kate said as she stood up, all she had to do was put on her shoes and touch up her makeup.

Rick just shook his head, "seven, six, five, four … damn it so close," Rick cursed just as the front door swung open and in walked Alexis, calm and the epitome of sophistication in her stunning black and white striped dress and her hair in a cheek high  
/ponytail.

"Hey, are you guys ready?" Alexis asked, as she shut the door behind her.

"Hey honey, we need like 10 more minutes if that's ok," Kate said as she walked towards the master bedroom.

"Yeah, that's fine," Alexis chuckled, "you are the guests of honor, so the show won't start without you."

"Well, that's true. There really isn't a party until I show up," Rick joked. "So where are we headed?"

"Nope, that's not going to work. You will just have to wait until we get there, just like Kate." Alexis said with a mock stern voice.

"Well, then it's a good thing that I'm ready to get going," Kate said as she walked over to the kitchen to grab her phone. "Babe, can you grab the keys? And bring your wallet." Kate kissed Ricks cheek as she moved passed him and to the front door.

"Yes, dear," Rick smiled at his wife and went to grab his jacket and opened the door for his two favorite ladies.

When they were in the elevator going down, Kate looked at Alexis properly for the first time today. "Wow, Alexis, you look gorgeous." Kate ran her hand down the girls' arm, gently squeezing her hand for a few seconds before dropping it.

"Oh, thanks," Alexis blushed a little bit, obviously not entirely used to the motherly affection she was now getting almost constantly from Kate.

oOoOoOo

When they pulled up in front of Remy's, Alexis just smiled and got out of the car.

"So I decided that the best place to do this with so few people in attendance, would be the family's go to diner." Alexis gestured for them to follow. "I talked to the owners, and they know us from all the times we have come here or gotten food to go  
/from here, so it was easy to talk them into allowing me to do this."

"It's the best idea ever!" Rick sounded so excited. "So can we go inside now? I want to see what you did, how this is going to work."

Kate and Alexis just looked at each other and giggled, it's like they had an oversized kid in a candy store.

Grabbing Kate's hand, Alexis led them inside and gave everyone a little wave. All the friends and family they had invited was already there, looking so excited.

Ryan walked over with arms open for a hug, "Hey Castles, nice shindig you've got going."

Rick chuckled and said. "you think this party is good now, just wait five minutes and prepare to be amazed. My daughter is a very good party planner it seems and she is very excited about this so she put extra thought into everything, by the looks of  
/it."

"Yeah, everything looks great. Alexis you did a great job, this is so much better than anything I would have come up with." Kate was looking around in awe. There were decorations of gender neutral colors as well as some in pink and blue, just to throw  
/people off.

There was a buffet of all of their favorites from Remy's and then some cakes and other deserts. There were some funny looking gender guessing games and in one corner there was a big TV that was not usually there, it was located so as to be in a good spot  
/for everyone to see, no matter where they were sitting.

"So shall we begin?" Alexis said in a tone that reminded Kate a little bit too much of Rick.

"Sure, sweetie," Kate nudged her playfully, "let's get this show on the road."

When everyone had picked a gender specific item from the games table, displaying it so it was obvious what everyone was guessing. Soon Alexis was telling everyone to grab some food and beverages. "Because in ten minutes I will be starting the first phase  
/of Operation: Gender Reveal."

With sounds of excitement coming from the small crowd, Alexis moved over to the TV and started setting up the video that she had, had Rick and Kate film sections for.

"So, this is a video that I shot and it's just a little bit longer than I wanted it to be originally, when the idea came to me, however it is also way shorter than I wanted it to be after all the gems I didn't see coming came along. So without further  
/ado, this is for the Mom and Dad to be," she put a hand to the side of her mouth and stage whispered comically, "again." Before winking in the direction of Rick and Kate, "enjoy." Everyone laughed, but as soon as the video started it quieted down  
/and they were engrossed in it.

 _"The first time I knew I was in love with Kate Beckett? That's a tough question, because I was always so intrigued by her. I was so excited about spending time with her that nothing else registered for a while, it wasn't until I started getting insanely jealous," Rick chuckled, "that I knew I was in trouble."_

 _"I knew I was in love with your dad for a long time, I just couldn't admit it to anyone, not even myself. If you ask Lanie she will tell you that, she will tell you that …" Kate tried to stop herself from laughing. "that I was being stubborn and stupid and that I should have been honest with myself form the start."_

Kate and Rick both laughed when there was a clear "mhmm" from the table next to them.

 _Still laughing Kate continued. "She even told me to go out with Rick to have fun and I quote 'get my freak on with writer boy'shortly after we started working together."_

 _Alexis was now on camera, "the first time I met Kate, she was arresting my dad. He of course loved it, having gotten himself in trouble a few times before and easily getting away with it. He has always had enough charm and, well, sometimes, money to get himself out of most situations." Giving the camera a pointed glare she continued, "he had no such luck for the first few months with Kate, she saw right past his facade and never let him get away with anything other than the right thing and following her rules, for the most part at least."_

 _"Rick was nothing but a pain in my ass the first year or so, for some reason he knew all the buttons to push for me to either want to spill my guts or kick him in his."_

At that statement Rick took Kate's hand and kissed it.

 _"Kate is the most amazing mystery to try and solve, she surprises me at every turn. When I think I have her figured out, she throws me for a loop and I'm right back at square one. Well, not square one, maybe more like square twenty-one, out of like a full board of snakes and ladders." Rick looked as if he was deep in thought, he then stood up and when he sat back down he had a snakes and ladders board. "This is such a fair representation of how my getting to know Kate has gone. See this? This is how hard I had to work to get her to see that I'm her one and done. I will sometimes make strides and go from square six to square 27, but then I will falter and go from square 47 to square 19 in a second, when I learn some vital information about her. Something I had no Idea she was hiding, or sometimes she wasn't even hiding, but was yet to be revealed. Like the sex of our baby." Rick smirked, like a full on in your face, I-know-something-you-don't-know smirk._

Kate leaned over to whisper in Rick's ear, "I knew before you did." She then leaned back in her chair with a grin. Rick looked over at her and just shook his head.

 _"First thought about finding out I was pregnant," Kate thought about it for a while before she spoke up. "I think my first thought was, shit is this really happening. We didn't really plan for this, it was a happy surprise, but a surprise none the less. I think shocked is all I could focus on for the first few days. I had planned on telling Rick straight away, so I called him, even though we had fought the night before. Asked him to meet me at a place that is dear to my heart for a number of reasons, but since that day the main reason is because it was there, that Rick proposed." Kate looked at her wedding ring, turning it around her left ring finger. "I had planned on surprising Rick with the shock of a lifetime, but of course, being Rick, he had to outdo me."_

 _"When Kate told us she was pregnant, well you were there. There are only a handful of moments in my life that have had that impact on me. When I found out about you, when Kate said yes, when Kate said 'I do', when I had my first bestseller, and now when I found out about your little …" Rick was speaking with such heart wrenching honesty that he was a little startled when he was interrupted._

 _"Dad, it's not time for that information to be divulged yet." Alexis chided him._

 _"Sorry, pumpkin," Rick just gave a light chuckle._

 _"All I can say is, I was genuinely over the moon. It was the best news I'd heard in like 3 days, right?" Rick looked from the camera to Alexis with a questioning look, "it was like 3 days from the engagement to the announcement, right? Damn it, Kate's going to kill me. She carries a gun you know."_

Kate heard everyone at the diner laugh, even the staff. She just took Ricks hand and gave it a light, loving squeeze. Letting him know that his fumble was fine. But she would have to mock him mercilessly later, he was so unsure, that she was positive  
/that she could tell him anything and he would believe it.

 _"Well, when Katherine and Richard announced that I was to become a grandmother again, well, I was just thrilled. I was honestly just thrilled. Richard is such a wonderful father to you already, and even if she will deny it or try and change the subject, or any other deflective measures. Kate has been a wonderful role model for you and even a fair bit mothering." Martha wiped a stray tear away as she continued. "Having lost her mother so young, I felt for the girl. She has so much love to give that sometimes, I'm afraid that she tries to close her heart to save it. Richard has done so well in guarding it for her, so that she can keep it open for the world to see."_

Kate looked over at Martha, both women had tears streaming down their faces. All Kate could do in recognition of this woman's love was to smile. Kate suddenly noticed her best friend wiping furiously at her cheeks, trying to ease the flow of tears.

 _"Thanks to Ricky, my Katie has been happy for the longest consecutive time since her mother died. There is no way for me as a father to thank him for being the husband she deserves, and then to add the joy of giving me grandchildren. I feel blessed that I can tell everyone that this is my family. That I have this beautiful daughter, who is happy. That when she got married, I gained a son and am now so excited to know that I am a grandfather too. I just want you to know sweetheart that if it's all right with you, then I'd be honored, that I would pride myself in the fact that I have this smart, talented, creative, thoughtful granddaughter to brag about to my friends."_

 _There was movement on camera as Jim reached to take Alexis' hand, and gave her a genuine smile._

 _"When I started this video, the idea was to gage at the excitement level of those who knew the sex of the baby. It was supposed to be this overly cute, somewhat fluffy video of everyone laughing and smiling." Alexis was obviously emotional as she continued, "what I didn't realize in the beginning is that this is a video that shows how much all of us love each other, that with the trepidation that sometimes comes with adding a new member to the family was just not really there. This little kid that's going to be here in about four months is already so loved, so cherished that there is no reason but to smile and laugh and try and find the right name. Because dad," Alexis glared at the camera._

Just then there was a bit of a commotion, as a water balloon was thrown at Ricks chest, exploding, drenching Ricks shirt in water with blue dye and spilling over to Kates dress as she was leaning into him as they watched the video.

"What the …" Rick gasped as the cold water shocked him. "Really Alexis!"

"Shh, I want to hear what she says next." Lanie said.

 _"There is no way I will have a baby brother named Cosmo." Alexis laughed and the video ended with a sonogram photo and white block letters written across it Baby Boy Castle._

It took the guests a few seconds to realize that the announcement had been made, because the water balloon had shocked people enough so that they didn't notice the sonogram straight away. It wasn't until Lanie squealed that everyone noticed.

Alexis now grabbed a water gun and pointed it at Rick and Kate and pulled the trigger, soaking them even more in blue dyed water.

Rick put a hand over his face, and Kate turned her back to Alexis, squealing.

"Ok, they get it, they get it," Rick exclaimed as he tried to shield himself from the jet.

"Dad, I hate to tell you this, but this is payback for the dye pack in the fridge," Alexis said as she laughed.

Kate left her husband's side to grab a towel from Martha and get out of the line of fire.

"Girlfriend, you're having a mini Castle?" Lanieexclaimed excitedly over the ruckus.

Laughing, with a few happy tears streaming down her cheeks, "looks like it, now I just pray that he will be receptive to at least some adult things that I'll teach him so his whole life will not just be laser tag and goofing around." Kate looked at Rick  
/with nothing but love in her eyes, and his on hers were shining with adoration.

Kate could hear Javi and Ryan grab Rick for a man hug, saving him from Alexis, so she turned around to take in the scene.

"Congrats, bro, this is really cool." Javi said with some well-practiced hand movements, almost like a secret handshake.

"Yeah, man, that's amazing. I'm getting so excited to see what mine is, but we decided to find out when the baby is born." Jenny was soon by her husband's side, gingerly chatting away with Kate and Lanie as the guys acted tough and it seemed that the  
/entire group was buzzing with the reveal.

oOoOoOo

While drying her hair after their shower, Kate looked at her husband and couldn't help but giggle. Even with her to help washing the dye off, he still had a few spots where he would have to wash a few more times.

"That was an amazing party Alexis planned," Kate said as she managed to contain her giggles but still had a huge grin on her face.

"I'll admit, it was better than I had expected." Rick looked smug, as if he was to thank for the party.

"Everyone had fun and, to be honest, you deserved the blue payback," Kate deadpanned.

"Yeah," Rick sighed, "I guess I did."

"That video was something else, I had no idea the amount of work she put into this party. She really thought of everything." Kate said as she pulled out her phone, she dialed quickly and soon there was an answer on the other end.

"Hi, Kate," Alexis said as she picked up.

"Hey bud, I just wanted to make sure you got home alright," Kate was surprised at how much she needed to know that Alexis was fine and happy.

"Yeah, just stepped out of the shower and am going to bed," Alexis said, sounding tired.

"All right, and honey," Kate began. "Thank you for not only a wonderful party, but an amazing video. It's obvious that you put a lot of effort into it and I just want you to know that I, that we greatly appreciate  
/it."

"You're welcome, it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot of different things about our family," Alexis said, before adding shyly. "I had no idea that your dad wanted to be a grandfather to me too."

"Well, it was no surprise to me," Kate said with a laugh, "both of my parents were quite vocal about wanting a lot of grandchildren, but I'm an only child. So it's easy to assume that in their minds, I was always supposed to have a lot of children."

"So you don't mind? And he won't mind being referred to as my grandfather?" Alexis sounded so unsure.

"Sweetie, I don't mind at all and your grandfather," she added pointedly, "would be nothing but thrilled and honored at the title change."

"Besides," Rick chimed in, "there is no such thing as too many grandparents."

Kate and Alexis laughed at that.

"That's true, now I think everyone is ready for bed." Kate said as she stifled a yawn.

"Good night, sleep tight." Kate said, soon Rick and Alexis echoed the statement, before Kate hung up.

* * *

 **So that was my reveal party, well most of it. Since I submitted it a little later than I was hoping, I made it extra long. I hope it doesn't discourage you from reading it.**

 **Please let me know if there is any part that you would like for me to mention, something that you feel might have gone amiss, in any of my chapters and I will work in as many answers as possible.**

 **Also if you have any other feedback, positive or negative (hopefully just positive though), don't hesitate to leave a comment or shoot me a PM.**

 **Just to keep things interesting, I was thinking I'd introduce the barista soon.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Castle is not mine.**

* * *

"Alexis?" Kate called up the stairs.

"Yes?" Alexis called back, emerging from her room to look at Kate.

"Do you want to watch a movie with me?" Kate asked, "your dad is in the kitchen experimenting and said that dinner would be ready in maybe two hours, so I figured I'd watch a movie to pass the time."

"Sure, what are we watching?" Alexis said with a laugh, "and what is he making?"

"God only know what he might be up to," Kate chuckled, "but I was thinking we could watch Dirty Dancing."

"Ooo, an oldy but a goody," Alexis said as confirmation. "Should we dare eat snack foods while we watch?"

"I think that might be perceived as inconsiderate, with the amount of work he is putting into dinner," Kate whispered. "Also he would probably kick us out of the kitchen if we tried."

"Yeah, you're right. This food better be good though, I'm not sure I'd be able to wait for the Chinese place down the street to deliver if he messes it up." Alexis said as she sat down next to Kate on the couch.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kate said pretty confidently, before adding a little louder. "Babe, you're not going to make a pregnant woman something inedible and force her to wait for take-out, are you?"

"What? I resent that." Rick said in mock annoyance, "I will have you know that this is a three Michelin star meal, according to google."

"Just remember that I'm like ten times more likely to get hangry while pregnant," Kate said, fist bumping Alexis.

"I swear, you'll love this meal." Rick said peaking his head from behind the kitchen wall, "so will you by the way." He added, pointing his spatula in Alexis' direction.

The women just laughed at successfully riling Rick up.

"Let's start the movie, before your dad gets too annoyed with us," Kate said with a laugh, pressing play.

When they were about halfway through the movie Alexis' phone beeped, causing Kate to automatically look in the direction of the noise. When she saw the coy smile and faint blush on the girls face she laughed out loud and asked, "how's the barista?"

"Am I that obvious?" Alexis said blushing even more.

"Yes, well, not only were you being very obvious," Kate said with a smirk, "but I'm also a detective. So?"

"Right, well she's fine," Alexis said, then her face went slack as she looked at Kate, terror in her eyes.

 _She? Well that's a twist, I've never even heard her mention that she was into girls. Quickly school your features, don't be weird, be supportive. Say something so she doesn't notice that you got shocked by this. What is appropriate?_

"Yeah? That's good. Are you planning the 'very fun for us, very awkward for you' meet the parents dinner?" Kate said, pretty proud of the way she managed to sound relatively normal.

"I-, uhm, wha-," Alexis started, then finally managed, "so you're, you're ok with her being a girl?"

"Well, I won't say that I'm not shocked. Mainly because you have never mentioned girls in this capacity." Kate began, before quickly adding, "but there is no reason for anyone not to be OK with it, I'm certainly OK with it. As long as she treats you like you should be treated, and that she knows that I'm a cop and that there will be hell to pay if she hurts you." Kate smiled and side-hugged Alexis, squeezing her shoulder, the action seeming to ease the tension in Alexis' body. "Does she make you happy? Because, I promise, that's all that matter to me _and_ your dad, we love you." Kate smiled knowingly, "and that look that I saw on your face when you got a message from her, that's what it's about. Not realizing that you're grinning at your phone like an idiot, just because they were thinking about you."

Alexis laughed at that, then looked Kate in the eye and said simply, "Thank you, Kate. I've been so nervous about telling you guys about Hayley, I just, yeah, thanks."

"You never answered my question," Kate said after a few minutes of watching the movie.

"What? Right, yeah, she makes me very happy," Alexis smiled and blushed, it was adorable.

"That's great, I'm glad. Not the question I was talking about though," Kate continued to watch the movie, while still noticing Alexis stare at her in her peripheral. "When do we get to meet her?"

"Oh, well, we had been talking about next Friday. She knows I hadn't told you guys about her being a girl. So she was very understanding every time I postponed, but now I have no reason to. You knowing is very helpful for me, because now you can help me tell dad."

On que, it seemed, Rick stepped into the living room. "Tell dad what, pumpkin?"

"Nothing," Alexis said quickly, "I'll tell you tomorrow, I just need to get something from my apartment before I tell you."

Rick looked questioningly at Kate, who just shook her head and smiled. Telling him that she would be supportive of Alexis, but that everything was all right and Alexis was safe.

"All right, pumpkin." He smiled, "as long as it's nothing dangerous or illegal." As he was turning back into the kitchen he quickly looked at his daughter, "wait, you're not pregnant are you?"

"No, dad." Kate and Alexis just looked at each other, each sporting a look of exasperation at Ricks attempt at humor.

"Sorry," Rick said with an embarrassed smile, "dinner will be ready in 30 minutes."

"Thanks, babe," Kate just laughed, there was no other response possible.

oOoOoOo

Rick had spent most of dinner trying to get Alexis to spill, not even attempting to be subtle.

"Rick, would you please stop badgering her and eat this delicious meal you spent hours making." Kate said finally, getting annoyed with the amount of stupid questions spilling out of her husband's mouth. "She's fine, everyone is fine and she will tell you everything in like 12 hours anyways. Can we just change the subject?"

"Oh, sure," Rick sounded a little weird. "Why can't she just tell me now though, I mean you know. Right?" He looked between the two women and Kate sighed.

"Dad, I just didn't want to tell you this without letting Kate prep you first," Alexis looked at Kate knowingly. "She would have managed to soften this news for you, without spilling the beans. But, the truth is." Alexis took a deep breath, seeming to calm just a little bit before speaking with purpose, "the barista is a girl, she is my girlfriend and her name is Hayley." Alexis stared at Rick, who just stared back. Eyes brimming, she wiped a stray tear that had fallen.

"I," Rick looked flustered, "I'm sorry." Rick stood up and went into the kitchen. Tears were now freely streaming down Alexis' cheeks, as she buried her face in her hands. Kate stood up to comfort the girl, before asking. "Rick, where are you going?" disappointed, that he would storm off.

"Nowhere," Rick grabbed a tissue and walked over to Alexis and handed it to her as he patted her back. Alexis took it and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry," he repeated, "sorry that you felt I would need prepping, that I would somehow not be happy for your happiness. Alexis, sweetie, you are a bright, charming, beautiful girl, sorry young woman." A hint of his cheeky charming smile, his hands raised in defense, coming through the overly emotional speech he was delivering. "If Hayley," he glanced at Kate, who simply nodded her confirmation, "makes you as happy as you seem, then that is enough for me."

Rick wrapped his arms around his daughter, who just sobbed into his chest. "Oh, honey, I didn't know you had something weighing so heavily on you." He rubbed soothing circles on her back, "were you really this worried to tell us?"

After a few moments Alexis calmed down enough to talk, "oh, God," she breathed out a sigh, "I'm sorry, I didn't think I would have a full blown breakdown over this."

"Honey, it's fine," Kate said as she put a hand on Alexis' shoulder, "stressful situations can break even the strongest people, and for you, this was obviously very stressful, otherwise you wouldn't have put it off for so long." Alexis leaned into Kate who was now soothingly stroking down her back.

"So Friday?" Kate asked with a laugh, trying to defuse the situation. When Alexis laughed too, Rick felt it was safe to joke.

"I feel like I shouldn't leave you two alone for the duration of any movie. Even if the main characters are Baby and Johnny Castle." There was a glint in his eye, "hey what about John?"

"Well I like that the name starts with a J, But I feel like he would be teased mercilessly if he was named after someone in Dirty Dancing." Kate said, earning a nod from Alexis.

"Well, his nickname could be Jack, rather than Johnny," Rick said, obviously trying to change their minds.

"The same could be said about any name starting with a J, because then his initials will be J, A, C." Kate said, making his point moot.

"I think I know what his name should be," Rick said with a sly smile, catching Kates eye.

Kate simply nodded.

"What?" Alexis asked, looking between the two a little confused.

Still looking into each others eyes, they both said in perfect sync, "James Alexander Castle."

Comprehension dawned on Alexis and laughing she said, "so my little brother in there, is Jack Castle?"

Kate nodded as Rick smiling said, "sounds like it."

* * *

 **Sorry for the late update, I've been struggling with a bout of writers' block. And the two-year-old has chicken pox.**

 **So with this being my personal jungle gym, I decided that because of their connection in season 8, that Alexis and Hayley had something special going. Specially after the moment where Alexis says that Hayley is part of the family.**

 **I was also a little inspired by the sheer amount of love flowing in the world towards the LGBTQ community in the wake of Orlando and the Pulse attack as well as the NYC Pride.**

 **I hope you don't mind me changing a few things about where Hayley comes from and her age and stuff. I wasn't a big fan Ricks PI storyline, but I might keep it to some extent. I haven't decided yet.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: No Castle ownership has been transferred to me so ...**

* * *

 _How can it possibly be that I'm only two thirds through this pregnancy and I'm this uncomfortable?_

Although Kate had gotten used to the fact that nothing seemed to fit her anymore, she was still annoyed with the amount of discomfort she was in. She had already given up on high heels most of the time, although when she knew she wouldn't be walking much, she still put them on. She, like most women, liked to feel sexy when she could. Even if she felt like a sexy beached whale.

"Babe? When will Alexis be here with Hayley?" Kate yelled from the bedroom. She was trying to put on a dress, that she swore fit her last week, with no luck. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, she went back to her closet to try and find something else to wear.

Rick stuck his head through the door, "what did you say?"

Kate was holding up a dress and a shirt, trying to decide what would be better for the night. She turned around putting each item of clothing in front of her as to ask his opinion while repeating her other question. "When will they be here?"

"In about twenty minutes," he said as he pointed at the shirt, adding, "that one, and wear the black pants with the thing."

"Thanks, babe," Kate said as Rick went back to the kitchen.

"He is way too good at that," she muttered to herself when he was out of earshot. "All right Jack, you better not have grown so much that I don't fit into these clothes either." She said as she placed her hand on her bump, before getting dressed.

Ten minutes later, Kate was dressed and had fixed her hair and make-up. She walked towards Rick and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Thank you, somehow you always manage to keep me calm and more importantly, pick clothes that fit."

Kate could feel his laughter more than hear it, and she loosened her hold on him. Rick turned around and put his hands on her waist, before kissing her. "You're welcome," his gaze had nothing but love shining at her.

They were startled out of their moment by a knock at the door, with a quick peck Kate took his hand and led him to the front door.

"Ready?" Kate asked as she took a deep breath.

"Ready." He said as he opened the door.

"Hey," Alexis had rarely sounded this nervous, as she stood there holding hands with her girlfriend. "This is Hayley," she said gesturing the girl next to her. "Hayley these are my parents, Rick and Kate."

 _She just introduced us as her parents, that's new. Wait I'm her parent? I am, right? Sort of at least. A step-mother is a parent. Unless she's evil, then she's a … cartoon villain. What? Where's my head at? What is going on? Am I really crying over this? Damn these hormones. There is nothing to cry about! I_ am _her parent!_ It would have been obvious to anyone that Kate was emotional, although there is no telling if people would guess correctly as to why. Odds were, they would misinterpret the situation.

"Hi Hayley, it's nice to _finally_ meet you," Rick said nudging his daughter a little, before shaking Hayley's hand. He then looked at Kate and the shock on his face was almost comical.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Was all he asked, as he started to slowly stroke up and down her back, trying to calm her.

"I'm sorry," Kate said as she wiped furiously at her face, trying to quell the tears. "Turns out, hormones suck." She laughed a little, but it sounded off. "It really is nice to meet you, I'm sorry about the waterworks."

Alexis looked at Hayley, who looked oddly calm, before walking over to Kate and giving her a hug and whispering into Kate's ear. "Are you all right? If this is too much for you, we can leave." Kate just shook her head.

"No honey, it's not too much," Kate said in the same whisper. "My hormones just went a little haywire when you introduced us as your parents." Kate chuckled at the admission. "It's just because, you've never referred to me as a parent, and it was new and a shock. I'm proud to be your parent by the way. I just can't really do emotions like a normal person." She pulled out of the hug, still holding Alexis by her shoulders. "Yesterday, I found myself wiping away tears at a toilet paper commercial, the one with the puppy." Kate was full on laughing now and Alexis laughed with her.

"Laughing, laughing is good," Rick looked between the two, "does this mean that my girls are good?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Kate said, before turning back towards Hayley. "I'm sorry about this, I blame this guy." Kate said as she pointed her thumb at Rick. "He knocked me up, and now I can't handle any strong emotion without tears. Those were happy tears by the way."

"Good to know," Rick said, "I always get blamed for the hormones, but I personally blame this guy." Rick joked, stroking lightly over Kates bump. "Are you, all of you, ready to eat?" He asked looking around the group.

"Yeah, sure," Hayley said, smiling.

"So, where are you from?" Kate asked as they sat down, "I mean because of your accent."

"I'm from a small town just outside of London," she replied.

"What was it like growing up there?" Rick asked.

"Boring, nothing much to do," Hayley answered, "so I up and left, two years ago, came here. Don't regret that decision at all," she looked at Alexis, who blushed.

"You're too sweet," Alexis whispered as she pecked Hayley on the cheek.

"All right, dig in you guys." Rick said moving the serving spoons so they were directed at the two girls.

"This looks great, Mr. Castle," Hayley said.

"Thank you." Rick had pulled out all the stops for this dinner, happy to have an excuse to make something extra nice.

"I'm lucky that my husband loves to cook," Kate said, grabbing Ricks hand under the table. "I can hold my own. I just don't like nearly as much as he does."

They continued eating and it was soon time for desert.

"Who wants coffee?" Rick asked as he stood up.

"I'll take a decaf, babe." Kate said with a wink. Before looking at the girls, "you should have some, Rick makes great coffee."

"I'm not a big fan of coffee, but you might want some," Hayley said, looking at Alexis. "You haven't had any since this morning."

"Yeah, dad, I'd love some." Alexis called after her father.

"Wait, you don't like coffee?" Kate said shocked, "not only are you a barista, but even stranger, you're dating a Castle. We are all pretty addicted to our coffee."

"Oh, believe me I know all about the Castle Caffeine Cravings," Hayley said with a laugh, "I'm pretty sure my brewing skills got me the first date. I'm just more of a tea girl myself."

"Right, it's the English in you," Rick chimed in as he put a cup in front of Alexis and then another in front of Kate, before shaking his head a little and swapping them. "Would you like a tea based beverage? I have a collection, I bought a lot of different teas when Kate was struggling with morning sickness."

"Yeah, sadly I was sensitive to the smell of coffee." Kate said ruefully, "but that's hardly on topic."

"I would love some black tea if you have it," Hayley said.

"Coming right up." Rick rushed to the kitchen and came back with a tray, with not only a little teapot, but a matching cup, saucer, tiny milk pitcher, sugar bowl and even a little honey pot.

"I wasn't sure how you take it, so I just brought all the options." Rick said with a smile.

"You wouldn't happen to have some lemon?" Hayley asked.

"Agh, of course it was the only thing I forgot," Rick said, causing Kate to giggle at his mishap.

"So, how long have you been a barista?" Kate said, trying to see if Hayley would talk about her plans for the future, without asking.

"I've been a barista full time for a year," Hayley said, "I used to do it part time while I was taking courses at uni, but living expenses got to be a little more than my income, so I'm now taking courses online while working."

"That's very mature of you, to prioritize like that," Kate said, before taking a big bite of her cobbler.

"Thanks, Mrs. Castle, it's hard work," Hayley smiled, "but I only have another year and then I'm done."

"Please, call me Kate," Kate said with a laugh. "Mrs. Castle sounds so formal." _Besides the fact that my name isn't really Castle, yet_. "What are you studying?"

"Well, Kate," Hayley said pointedly. "I'm a double major, I'm getting my Bachelor's degree in Criminology and Anthropology."

"Wow, that's a lot of work," Rick said, sounding very impressed.

"Yeah, it takes a fair bit of time. This one," she pointed at Alexis, "seems to think it takes too much of my time, she gets a little jealous of the amount of time I spend with my books." She now fully looked at Alexis and smiled, humor in her eyes.

"Well, how could I not?" Alexis countered. "I kind of like spending time with you." Alexis smiled and put her hand in Hayley's on the table.

"I kind of like spending time with you too," Hayley said, smiling at the sight of Alexis blushing a little. "But if I don't graduate now, it means more time with the books and less time with you."

"What did your family think about you moving here?" Rick asked.

"Oh, I, uhm," Hayley stumbled, the first time that night where she didn't seem at all prepared for the question. Alexis moved her hand from Hayley's and ran it up and down her girlfriends back. "Sorry, I don't mean to mumble. It's just, I don't have any family. My parents were killed, that's when I came here." Hayley finished looking at her hands in her lap.

"I'm so sorry," was all Kate said, knowing what losing just her mother did to her, although she kind of lost her father at the same time, but she still got him back later on.

"It's fine," Hayley said with a shrug, still looking at her hands. She suddenly looked up, smiled sadly and said, "I guess it's just something you learn to live with, you know?"

"I do, well to an extent," Kate said as Rick put a hand on her thigh, squeezing it gently. "I don't know if Alexis told you, but my mother was killed when I was nineteen."

"Yeah, she did, sorry," Hayley said.

"Yeah, sorry Kate. I didn't really think it through, maybe you didn't want me to share that." Alexis looked uneasy.

"It's fine, I'd rather you tell her, than she read about it in the tabloids," Kate joked, "I assume you googled us."

"Yeah, that's the only reason I knew you were pregnant," Hayley joked back.

Kate laughed at that, before realizing it could be true. "Wait, that was in the tabloids?" Kate asked, suddenly serious.

"Yeah, it was one of the cover stories on a few of the magazines," Alexis said, sounding surprised at the fact that Kate didn't know. "There was even a pap picture of you shopping, when you bought that really cute outfit for Jack, the one with the bowtie." Alexis had her phone out. "Here it is."

 _ **Maternal Heat**_

 _Author_ _ **Richard Castle**_ _and new wife,_ _ **Katherine Beckett**_ _(inspiration for character_ _ **Nikki Heat**_ _) are expecting their first child together.  
As everyone knows, they had a surprise wedding earlier this summer, at their engagement party.  
During a recent outing Katherine was glowing, and a source close to the newlyweds confirms the news saying:  
"They are so excited, they had been trying for a while now and finally it worked out for them."  
The source wants to remain anonymous, but said that little baby Castle was due late this year. __**Richard**_ _is already father to daughter_ _ **Alexis Castle**_ _, 20 (inset with her father)._

"Wow," was all Kate could muster, before laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"Yeah," Alexis was laughing too. "You're also on an online list of _Who's due next_ and are apparently joining a celebrity moms club."

"I learn new things about myself every time I see my name in print." Kate said, a hint of laughter in her annoyance.

"Yeah, same. For instance, I had no idea that we were trying," Rick said, laughing. "But I kind of want to know what celebrity mothers you're going to be hanging out with."

"Same, they might have some parenting tips," Kate said.

"Well, as much fun as reading gossip with you is, I think it's time for us to get going. Hayley has to work tomorrow and I need to get ready for school." Alexis said as she stood up and started putting desert plates in the sink.

"Oh, honey, just leave it. Your dad will clean this up later." Kate said as she put a hand over Alexis' shoulder.

"This was nice," Alexis said as she walked to the door with Kate by her side and Hayley two steps in front of them.

"Yeah, this was great Mr. and Mrs. Castle," Hayley said as she turned around to face them. "I had a great time."

"It was our pleasure," Kate said, "we should do this again sometime."

"That would be nice," Alexis said as she looked at her girlfriend, who just winked.

Rick walked towards them and added, "but I do recommend we keep the grandparents away for at least the next couple of times. Because I assume they will have some strange questions and topics."

"Bye girls, drive safe," Kate said leaning into Rick.

"We will, bye," Alexis said as she stepped into the elevator, giving _her parents_ a little wave before the doors closed.

"I like her," Kate exclaimed when they walked back towards the dining room to clean up.

"I do too," Rick said as he started loading the dishwasher.

"Awful what happened to her family though," Kate mused.

"Well, it means that you are kind of kindred spirits. Having this tragic thing in common." Rick said as he looked at Kate and smiled at her.

"Yes," Kate didn't want to talk about it any further so she changed the subject. "They are a really cute couple. When Hayley reminded Alexis about the coffee, it's almost like our thing."

"I know, right. I love it," Rick sighed.

"But considering the fact that Jack was turned into tabloid news, don't you think we should warn them?" Kate asked seriously. "It could be rough on a new relationship to be scrutinized like that. I was really upset when they started writing about us, even before we started dating. They would try and pin you as a cheater and make up so much about our relationship. I was made to look like a gold digging muse, and you were a playboy cheater." Kate was ranting and she knew it, the damn tabloids just pissed her off. "Who are they to talk about my pregnancy? It's so strange to be in this position, I've never even done anything to warrant celebrity other than marrying you."

"I know, but on that note, marrying me comes with a few … I don't want to say obligations, but yeah, assumptions about you." Rick sounded like he wanted something.

"What's going on? What do you need?" Kate knew his tells all too well.

"They want us to do Good Morning America, I've been trying to find a way to ask you this for a few days. No time like the present right?" Ricks attempted humor did nothing to ease her nerves.

"Why do I have to be there? This is your work," Kate asked, nerves clearly bleeding into her voice.

"Everyone knows that you are the inspiration for Nikki Heat, and it was all over the tabloids that we got married, plus the whole Jack thing." Rick was trying, so hard.

"So they want to discuss us, rather than the book?" Kate asked, incredulous.

"They want to discuss us, and the book. Our relationship will sell, people love to know how life treats celebrities, and that includes you." He said with a sigh. "I could do this without you, but I like spending time with you, as the girls would say, so I would much rather do this with you than without you." Rick walked over and kissed her lightly, before resting his forehead on hers. "Please?"

"Damn you and your sweet-talking ways," Kate said in mock offence. "Do we just go there and talk about the book?"

"Well, there will be questions about us," Rick said, "but we can veto some questions. They will provide a list of topics they want to discuss, and we can just tell them what we are comfortable with. This is mostly to sell the book, but they will want to talk about a few things more to do with our personal lives."

"So they will want to use the fact that I'm there to talk about scenes like page 105 in Heat Wave?" Kate asked, even though she knew the answer.

"They will most likely joke about it a little, it was pretty much played out when it came out. The joke will mostly just be because of you being pregnant." Rick said honestly.

"Fine, but you have to run interference if I get nervous and I will laugh at their attempted humor about our sex life, but will not be talking about it at all. Neither will you for that matter, that is so not something to talk about on live TV." Kate said sternly.

"That goes without saying," Rick seemed pleased.

"Alright, I better get ready for bed before I change my mind," Kate said as she yawned.

"All right, let me just finish up here and then I'll join you," Rick said, pecking her cheek.

As Kate walked out of the bathroom, Rick had just finished in the kitchen and was on his way over. Kate got in to bed and tried to get comfortable, but even with the pregnancy pillow she still wasn't.

"Babe, are you almost ready for bed?" Kate called towards the bathroom. Rick walked out just then, wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt.

"Yeah, ready."

"Good, because I can't get comfortable without you," Kate grunted.

"I love you too," Rick laughed, settling in bed with Kate using him as a pillow, "night."

"Night," Kate mumbled, already half asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: So this was the meeting of Hayley. Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Since you were so patient with me I made it extra-long. About double the length of a normal chapter.**

 **If you have any questions or ideas you want me to add, please feel free to leave a review or pm me, and I'll see what I can do.**


	17. Chapter 17

"I still can't believe I agreed to this," Kate said as she paced, well waddled (she was willing to admit that to herself, but no one else), around the loft.

"You'll be fine," Rick said, soothingly, "you've seen me do this so many times."

"Right, but you're used to this, you were prepped for this, you chose this as part of your career." She countered, she knew it wasn't logical, but she was very nervous about their interview the following morning.

Any time she had done interviews in the past, they were about a case. This was her, somewhat willingly, going in front of America to discuss her personal life. Again, why had she agreed to this?

"Can we just, go over the talking points again?" She asked, trying to steady her breathing. In order for this to go as smoothly as possible, she was going to go in prepared. She would know what questions they would ask, and have answers ready.

"Well, they will want to discuss the book, and your thoughts on it and maybe the entire Nikki Heat series. They will ask about our wedding day. They will no doubt want to confirm your pregnancy and might joke about page 105, it will be a straight shot about how we might have conceived." Rick said, honesty dripping from his voice, as if he knew his jokes would not be appreciated at this time.

"All right, fine. I will allow one joke about our sex life, in connection to the pregnancy, but any more and I will not be laughing." She stopped pacing and sat down on the very plush couch in the living room.

"That's fair," he said, before adding, "thank you by the way, for agreeing to this."

"Babe, I would do anything for you," she said softly, then chuckled, "proven by the fact that I'm going to be on live television tomorrow morning."

Kate looked at Rick, who had just joined her on the couch. "Oh, don't worry, you'll do great."

Rick took her hand and looked into her eyes, "now what do you say we take a nice bath, with scented candles, a massage and a glass of apple cider?"

"You had me until apple," Kate said with a look of disgust. "Swap apple cider for orange juice and you've got yourself a deal."

Rick just chuckled before standing up and offering her his hand for support. They were already disrobing on their way to the master bath. Rick ran the bath as Kate sat on the bed to take off the rest of her clothes.

When everything was ready, Rick held her hand as she got in and sat behind her in the tub. After they settled in, Rick put his hands around her, holding her close. "I love you," he said as he started to rub his hands up her arms, towards her shoulders. "I'm so grateful that you are willing to do this with me." He said as he kissed her neck, before slowly starting to work on the knots in her shoulders and back.

She hummed in approval, "wow, I really needed this."

"Yeah, no kidding," he said, "it's like I'm massaging a rock."

"It's not easy carrying your son wherever I go, all day, every day," she said laughing.

"Hey, I resent that," Rick said in mock offence, "he's _our_ son."

"Fine, but you can carry him for nine months after he's out of there," she was joking, but the idea was too much for her. "No, I take that back. I'd miss him too much."

"Kate, you do know that whilst holding him, I'd be standing right next to you. Right?" He asked, sounding somewhat amused by her paranoia.

"I know, it's just," _it's just what? What is it?_ "it's a mother thing. Just ask Martha if you don't believe me." She stated firmly, feeling like she had a strong argument, but was surprised when she heard, and felt, Rick chuckle. She soon felt Rick's hands trace her body from her shoulders, down her arms and then rested on her protruding bump.

"It's so much better doing this with someone who's just as excited as I am. Meredith loves Alexis in her own way, but she was mostly worried about her figure her entire pregnancy." Rick said, his voice low and raw. "I've always wanted more kids, you know me, I'm still a kid at heart. I wondered if I would do it by myself again, or maybe not do it at all. I'm so happy I have a partner, not just that, but a partner that's all in."

Kate put her hands over his and squeezed, "I didn't even want kids until I met you. You gave me this gift, even before I got pregnant. I had fantasized about what our family would look like, not if we'd have kids, but how many. Now I just picture what Jack will look like, will he have your blue eyes or my hazel ones? Will he have long fingers and become a piano player or cute stubby little fingers and have to find an instrument that doesn't require delicate movements? Or will he want to focus on sports rather than the arts?" Kate laughed at herself, "sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes."

"No, I get it. I've done the same thing," Rick said, "well, almost the same thing. I've wondered if he'd be into Laser Tag, hide and seek, and other games I used to play with Alexis. Will he want to be a cop like you or a writer like me, or will he want to follow in Alexis' footsteps where ever they lead her. Will he have a flair for the dramatics like mother?" He laughed, before adding, "God forbid."

"I don't know how to tell you this, babe, but any dramatic flair could just as easily be from you," Kate said with a chuckle.

"Uncalled for," Rick said, feigning hurt.

As Paula was talking to some producer, Kate was staring straight ahead wringing her fingers together.

"Sweetheart? Are you feeling all right?" Rick asked, looking worried and slightly alarmed. "You're looking a little – nervous."

"Nice save," Paula said as she joined them. "Your segment will start in five minutes, get her ready."

"I'm ok, I just need to use the bathroom." Kate mumbled, before being guided towards a door a few feet away.

"Do you need any help?" Rick asked.

"No, I think I can manage it by myself," Kate joked, and she could have sworn she heard Rick breathe a sigh of relieve at the joke.

As Kate looked in the mirror, she was tempted to splash water on her face, to cool down, or settle her nerves. However, the fact that a team of professionals had gotten her hair and makeup done, not fifteen minutes ago, the thought was quickly squashed in favor of not going through that again in a hurry.

She left the bathroom and had no sooner joined Rick and Paula, when a staff member of the show told them they'd be on in one minute. She didn't even have time to be nervous anymore, there was only time to look at Rick and marvel at his composure and try to mimic it before being called on stage.

"He is the best-selling author of the Derrek Storm and Nikki Heat series' and she is his muse, turned wife. The new book Deathly Heat will be out later this month, let's see what they have to say about it. Please welcome author Richard Castle and Detective Katherine Beckett." Lara Spencer said as she gestured towards them where they sat, Rick calm as a cucumber and Kate not so much.

"Good Morning America," Rick said with his usual charm, "and good morning Lara."

"Well, good morning to you too, Richard," Lara said, before Rick good naturedly interrupted her by saying, "please, call me Rick."

Kate just sat there smiling, rather unnaturally to be honest.

"Well, Rick, it's wonderful to have you here this morning and even better that you brought your stunning, absolutely stunning wife with you." Lara said, making Kate blush and lean into Rick.

"Thank you for having me," Kate said with a soft smile, "this is usually something Rick does by himself, so it's nice to be included." _That's it, nice and simple._

"Rick, has mentioned his muse on more than one occasion, and now with the – if I'm not mistaken – _surprise_ wedding, we had to talk to you and get your reaction," Lara joked.

"Whoa, do not use the m-word near her," Rick said with a laugh. "After the first Nikki Heat novel came out, I mentioned her being my muse and this beautiful lady on my left, told me in no uncertain terms that if I were to call her that again." Rick jokingly winced and hurriedly moved his legs away from Kate, before finishing, "that she would break both my legs."

"I'm pretty sure that, while I'm 24 weeks pregnant you would be able to outrun me." Kate said with a laugh, gently rubbing her belly.

Rick laughed along with her, putting his hand over hers. She then moved her hand from under his to the top so she could guide his hand to where Jack was kicking. Rick's eyes went wide for a second, before he proudly announced, "he is very excited to be here." With a glint in his eye he added, "he is also extremely smart and is talking in Morse code. He just told me that my wife could outrun me, but asking that she doesn't."

Kate just shook her head at her husband's antics, very used to them by now.

"To answer both questions directed at me: I have gotten used to the title of his muse, and will not be breaking his legs, I need him to be able to use them to cater to my every whim during this pregnancy." Kate pointedly looked at Rick, causing him to chuckle and Lara to politely laugh. "And Lara yes, he did surprise me with a wedding."

"Wow, brave man," Lara breathily laughed.

"I just went with the assumption that she wanted to marry me as much as I wanted to marry her." Rick said, taking Kates hand and squeezing it.

"How did that even happen?" Lara asked.

"Well, he managed to get away with a lot of planning under the pretense of planning the lavish engagement party he so desperately needed." Kate said with a laugh before adding, "Alexis will attest to the fact that I was on to them."

"Alexis will do no such thing," Rick scoffed.

"I asked her the night before and I quote, 'so, what is this big surprise your dad has in store for me'." Kate was still laughing, as she subconsciously rested her hand on Ricks and interlocked their fingers.

"But when we were supposed to announce this little guy," Kate said looking at her protruding belly, "Rick decided it would be more fun to surprise me."

"There have been rumors floating around that there is supposed to be a tv-show based on Nikki Heat, is that something that we are likely to see in the near future?" Lara asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Well, there has been talk, but for now, nothing is set in stone." Rick said, smiling politely before adding, with a devious glint in his eyes "I just hope that if that happens, it won't crash and burn like the movie."

"I just hope that the actress won't be so method like the last one, asking me for permission to sleep with you." Kate said, somewhat annoyed but managed to hide it, at least to some extent.

"What?" Rick exclaimed, "I never slept with her. Why would she ask your permission? We weren't even dating."

"I never said I fully gave her permission." Kate blushed a little, before adding. "Besides, babe, so many people assumed that we were a couple from day one." They both laughed at the truth of her words.

"Will we be seeing art imitate life for Nikki Heat?" Lara asked, before adding. "Will we see Jameson Rook put a ring on it?"

"Well, Lara, I don't think I have it in me to plan two weddings the span of a year." Rick smirked, "but maybe down the line, when I feel it is warranted. I think it's best if that duo sticks to solving murders."

"Speaking of planning weddings, Katherine, was there anything you felt was missing from you wedding? Something Rick might have forgotten or overlooked?" Lara asked softly.

"No," Kate looked at Rick lovingly, "he made the day magical and everything he thought I might want was done to perfection. He even had my mother's wedding dress for me to wear, so it was almost like she was there with us too. Plus, he shamelessly used Alexis to get information, girls night and dress shopping were covers for wedding espionage." Kate laughed.

"Before finding out that you were expecting a boy, what had you hoped for?" Lara asked, looking between the two.

"I thought it was a girl, but I hoped for a boy because we already have a daughter." Rick said, causing Kate to look from Lara to Rick so fast, she might have gotten whiplash. "I mean I know that Alexis is a young woman now, but I thought it would be nice to have a little boy. Have one of each if you will."

"Well, all I hoped for, and still hope for, is a healthy baby," Kate began, adding with a smirk directed at Rick, "besides, I knew it was a boy."

"That's only because you cheated," Rick exclaimed. "Using that mother's intuition thing, I say that's cheating."

"This is your first child together, but Rick has Alexis from a previous marriage. What is your relationship with Alexis like?" Lara asked, looking directly at Kate.

"Alexis and I," Kate was suddenly nervous and looked for some reassurance from Rick, getting it in the form of a light squeeze of her hand. She cleared her throat, then started over. "Alexis and I have been growing closer everyday it feels like, it makes me so happy because I was a little apprehensive that she would resent me as some kind of early on set sibling rivalry when I told them I was pregnant." Kate laughed, "I mean, I couldn't blame her, she has been an only child for over 20 years so having a new baby, it would freak me out a little I think. But she has been so great, so caring and thoughtful. I love her so much and am so proud of her every day." Kate said, eyes a little glassy, but managing to maintain her composure.

"It's been amazing to see Alexis and Kate grow so much closer than I ever thought they would. Sometimes I _almost_ get jealous when Alexis calls Kate for advice about things that she would have called me for a year or two ago, but then I get that this is such a rare, magical connection and I just marvel at it." Rick said happily.

"We have time for one more question. There are rumors that you have joined a celebrity moms club, is that true, and if so, are you getting helpful tips from that group?"

"I'm sorry to tell you that, I have not joined any mom groups, celebrity or not. I would however love any tips, so I might have to find a group to join." Rick said in mock seriousness, as Kate just laughed before saying, "what he said."

Lara laughed before ending the segment with, "Deathly Heat in stores near you. Rick, Katherine, it was a pleasure, thank you for coming."

"Thank you for having us," they said simultaneously.

"And you're off," a producer announced as he walked on set with Paula right behind him. There was a staff member removing their mics as Lara said, "you did great, it was light and funny, good job."

"Thanks, I was so nervous about saying something stupid," Kate admitted.

"Well, you didn't and you came across as smart, witty and confident." Lara reassured her.

"I told you, you had nothing to worry about," Rick said as he kissed her temple and rubbed her lower back gently.

* * *

 **So, I know, I suck. I have no good excuse or anything that would be worthwhile for you to read about this unscheduled hiatus. It's just life, and it sometimes gets in the way.  
I was a little skeptical if I should continue with this story at first, psyching myself out, that because of the time gap, I would never be able to write a chapter that would live up to peoples expectations. I'm sure this chapter was not as good as some of you hoped, for that I am sorry.**

 **Hopefully you will forgive me for this huge gap of time between updates, as a token of peace and love and all that, I have a sweet surprise coming to you tomorrow. Check my profile tomorrow to see the new story, I am currently finishing the first chapter for the new story. Not to be taken as me leaving New Beginnings to collect even more dust. I will also update that tomorrow, around noon GMT.**

 **In conclusion, I appreciate you and your patience.**


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey Alexis," Kate said with a knowing smirk when she picked up her phone during their drive home.

"Hey! I said almost, _almost_ get jealous. That does not mean that I get jealous, or that you get to mock me for said _almost_ jealousy." Rick ranted, "besides, that was about asking advise, not talk on the way home from a TV segment."

Kate and Alexis just laughed at his outrage.

Trying to lighten the mood, Kate asked Alexis, "how was the viewing party?"

"About as fun as can be expected given the time, it's now what 10am and you are done. Grams, Gramps and I have all left the loft, I'm heading out to get coffee and be adorable at my girlfriends' workplace." Alexis said with a chuckle.

"Do you want company looking adorable, I've been told that your dad and I are adorable together." Kate asked in a mock serious tone.

"That would actually be nice," Alexis answered honestly.

"All right, see you in a few." Kate hung up and looked at Rick, "we're having coffee with Alexis." She then told the cabbie that they were changing their destination.

"That's nice," Rick glanced at his watch. "I just have to be at BP for a lunch meeting with all the publicity staff to see how they feel the interview went."

"Do you need me at that meeting or …?" Kate left the question hanging.

"Cash or Card?" The cabbie interrupted, followed quickly by Rick handing over a few bills. "Keep the change."

"No, you can relax." Rick said continuing their conversation as they walked in to the coffee shop. "It's just a check in and making sure that everything went according to their wishes."

"Hi, Mr. & Mrs. Castle," Hayley greeted them as they looked away from each other, Kate noticing that they were in fact at their destination and face-to-face with their daughter's girlfriend.

A little startled, but able to control her features, Kate smiled and said softly. "Hayley, hi. We were looking for Alexis, is she here yet?"

"Yeah, she's at a booth in the far corner." Hayley said pointing them in the right direction. "You looked nice on Good Morning. I really like that dress, but please tell me you didn't walk far in those heels." She laughed.

"No, just too and from the stage. They were so uncomfortable, but I didn't think sneakers or wool socks would look as good on TV." Kate chuckled. "Besides, I had Rick there to help me keep my balance."

"Yeah, she's getting a little front heavy," Rick joked. Kate playfully smacked him across the chest, "it's your own fault."

Kate looked in the direction of the booth and made eye contact with Alexis, giving her a slight nod and telling Rick that she would meet him at the table once he had ordered them some drinks. Rick checked if Alexis had a drink before heading off and buying something for everyone.

"Hey bud, how was your morning with the grandparents?" Kate asked as she sat down, glad to be off her feet.

"It was nice, Grams cooed at the TV every time you and dad did something cute." Alexis laughed.

"What did we do that was cute?" Kate asked a little puzzled as to which part of the interview was cute enough to warrant cooing at a TV.

"Oh, the entire thing was cute, but she got even more over the top when you were talking about me," Alexis admitted while a slight blush could be seen rising in her cheeks.

"Who was over the top?" Rick said as he put down their drinks.

"Marta. Grams." They said simultaneously.

"Ah, say no more." Rick joked, "please."

"Alexis was telling me that your mother thinks we are so cute it warrants cooing when we talk about Alexis." Kate recapped.

"Yeah, we are pretty adorable," Rick agreed with a sigh.

"Told you," Kate told Alexis with a laugh.

"Alright, on to the important things." Kate said as she shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable. "How is school?"

"School is going well, I have some interesting classes this semester, and some even more interesting professors." Alexis said, just then Hayley stopped by their table, gave Alexis a quick peck and placed a muffin in front of her.

Hayley jumped in, "I'm on top of it, making sure we have our schoolwork done before we get to hang out and watch Netflix or play games."

"Good, not that we would doubt either of you," Rick said, "but it's nice to be kept informed about these things."

"Babe, just skip the small talk and ask her!" Kate said, half exasperated, half amused.

"Yeah, you're right." Rick said looking from Kate to Alexis with an almost awkward smile. "We were wondering if you would be free for a weekend in the Hamptons soon, preferably this month. I really miss you after you moved out and …"

Rick was cut off by a simple, "dad."

"Yeah, pumpkin." Rick said with a small chuckle.

"How about next weekend," she said with a smile. "You're off, right?" Alexis asked Hayley, who pulled out her phone to confirm it.

"Yeah, I have a long weekend. Friday, Saturday, Sunday off and don't have to be back here until noon on Monday the 16th of September." Hayley said looking up from her calendar app and smiling softly.

"Great," Rick said, clapping his hands excitedly. "Now that you have confirmed, I can start planning."

Kate laughed at her husband, knowing that this was such a big deal to him. Then suddenly realizing that it was Tuesday, glanced at her watch, cursed under her breath, finished the last of her decaf and stood up. "Honey, I'm sorry I lost track of time and didn't realize I had to be at work so soon. Will you be OK here or do you need a ride somewhere?" Kate said as she gestured Alexis to stand up.

"I'm fine here, Hayley was going to help me with some stuff for school during the afternoon lull, so I'll stay here." Alexis told Kate giving her a funny half smile, half shrug.

"Great," Kate hugged Alexis, gently stroked her hair from her face and kissed her cheek. She turned to Rick and asked if he was ready to leave.

"Oh, Kate I have that meeting with BP, so I think I'll just wait here a few more minutes, then head over there." Rick said.

"All right," Kate said as she turned to leave, as she reached the door she looked at them and said, "talk to you later, love you."

Which was echoed right back at her, from her family.

* * *

 **Sooooo … I was wondering if there was anyone out there that felt this story was too fluffy and needed some angst or if I should keep it like this.**

 **I would never go full angst, not for this story at least, so let me know.**

 **This chapter is a little short because there is the surprise story coming in about an hour or so, so keep your eyes peeled.**


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